Here We Go Again
by Kuroida
Summary: Muggles and wizards were never meant to meet but when the two worlds inevitably collide, Teddy Lupin and his friends are caught up right in the middle of it. AU. RLNT live! Sequel to A Year to be Remembered.
1. The Computer

**Alt. Title:** Teddy Lupin and the Deathly Hallows (it's so unoriginal!)

I think I'm a week late but here's the next story in the series! If you're new I strongly suggest you read "A Year to be Remembered" first otherwise you'll have no clue what I'm talking about!

And am I the only one having huge problems accessing ? o.0 Every time it says "done with errors on page" and all I get is a blank page with the ads. It took like 15 tries just to get this up!

As usual, all character names are just names. This is NOT meant to be a crossover.

On with the story!

* * *

The store was hot and humid, the summer sun was still pretty high in the sky given that it was already 5pm and the store owner looked outside to see several children running and laughing carrying large ice cream cones from the store across the street.

He wouldn't mind grabbing one now really…

But then the man snapped back into reality and sighed. It was almost closing time. Most people went home at 5 signaling the end of the long workday so it was rare for people to be in the store during this time. They wanted to get home to their families on such a nice summer day and hopefully avoid getting stuck in rush hour.

Therefore, as he peered over the counter top he couldn't quite help but stare and the rather unusual sight before him.

Three boys, all about twelve years old, stood in the middle of his store. The smallest one was carrying a laptop while another one was busy arguing that some other one would be better.

And quite loudly too.

Yet, that wasn't the head turner for the group.

That was credited to the boy who stood a in the middle of the two. The boy with almost blinding blue hair. There was no way that hair could be natural. What were his parents thinking?

"Can I help you boys?" the shopkeeper asked and three heads turned to look at the intruder.

"Yeah. We're looking for a computer," the larger boy said enthusiastically holding up a store flyer.

"You guys have a sale right?"

The shopkeeper tried not to narrow his eyes.

Discreetly he checked around the store. Where were the parents? Surely no twelve year old could afford a computer and if they could would he get in trouble for it? Maybe they were really here for some other purpose….but he _did _have security cameras in his store…

Teddy noticed the shopkeeper's pause at the sentence, face closing in as his eyes darted quickly around before resting on his face out of all the others.

"_Great. I should have changed my hair,"_ Teddy thought, trying to refrain from rolling his eyes. Why did all muggles look at him like he was some street punk when his hair was a different color? He'd asked Vic why people kept staring at him through their trips around the city and Vic had shrugged and told him not to worry about it.

"They're just not used to things that they don't consider 'normal'," Vic had said, "Hey. That's maybe why the wizarding world and the muggle worlds are so separated from each other. They can't stand change. We deal with it all the time."

"Yes. We have a sale this weekend only," the shopkeeper suddenly said, realizing he'd stalled long enough for an answer and jolting Teddy out of his thoughts.

"You get a free game with selected discounted models," he went on, "what did you have in mind?"

"Well we wanted a laptop that can act as a desktop," Roy said matter of factly, "I was thinking of this model but my brother wants that one," he continued with a scowl at said brother.

"Well. Do you boys have a price range?" the man asked ad all the boys looked at each other.

"Not really. Just not too expensive," Teddy said with a shrug causing the shopkeeper to frown. Would it be too rude to ask them if they even had money at all?

Probably.

"Well I personally would go with this one. The faster processor and more internal memory weighs out the larger screen for the other one," the man said, raising an eyebrow when Roy muttered "I told you so," to his brother.

Did these boys really know what they were doing or were they just playing it by ear?

"We'll take it," Teddy said with a nod.

"Where are your parents?" the man asked suddenly only for all three boys to shrug and say "busy."

"Yeah so about the game. Do you still have Day of Sagittarius III?" Vic asked, moving the conversation back on topic.

"….Yes…. we do….," the shopkeeper said, carefully taking the laptop and walking to the register.

"But that game is for 18 years and older," he said with a frown and he watched as all the boys' faces fell.

Teddy in particular sighed. He knew there was going to be something wrong with all this.

The boys' summer had started out wonderfully. Vic and Roy took Teddy to all sorts of places. Buckingham Palace, the Natural History Museum, summer festivals, amusement parks, theaters, everything with free entry, the boys went. Teddy had been fascinated. He'd even let Roy show him around the Science Museum and the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Even though Muggle paintings didn't move they sure looked pretty realistic.

Sometimes the boys went out for hours on end visiting attraction after attraction, they played in parks, hung out around convenience stores, rode in trains and ate in Internet cafes. As long as the sun was shinning, they went out, sometimes alone, others with Teddy's parents. It was amazing what you could do in London and quite frankly Teddy couldn't believe that all this stuff was practically located right in his backyard.

But eventually things died down and a new issue had popped up.

Teddy needed a computer.

Internet cafes were fun but Teddy sill wanted his own computer so he could play in the comfort of his home. And finally, a few weeks into the break, Teddy and his friends convinced Teddy's parents to get a computer. But of course, they had reached this decision during Auror initiation week where the new recruits were being shown the ropes. Which just so happened to mean that Tonks would be at work more often than usual. And it just so happened that this sale had landed right on a full moon weekend.

Remus had accompanied the boys to get the much-needed _internet _which Roy and Vic had insisted was first priority. That, to Teddy, had been the most boring four hours of his life. The grown ups along with Roy and Vic talked numbers and weird technological terms that Teddy hadn't even heard of.

Eventually, thanks to unlimited patience from customer support and input from the more muggle accustomed brothers, they had managed to gain some sort of internet package and the group had gone home to meet installers who would hook them up.

Throughout it all Teddy had no clue what was going on but as long as he had it, he stayed out of the way.

Then came the next step: Getting the computer.

Vic had found the ad in the paper and insisted on the game, "It's the coolest game in the world Ted. It's totally worth it," Vic had said happily. They'd spent the rest of the evening reading up on the game and seeing how amazing it really was. By the time it came to actually get the package Teddy was just as ecstatic about the game as he was about the new computer.

Nevertheless, Teddy had insisted that he and his friends would be able to handle it on their own and Remus had relented, handing them his wallet and practically passing out on the couch. Teddy had been confident that by the time he woke up his father would be looking at a shiny new computer just waiting to be used.

The majority of it was true. Teddy _had_ been confident. He wasn't anymore thought. Not with some man giving him accusing stares behind his back.

"But. But-" Vic complained at the man's refusal to sell his prized game.

"I'm sorry but unless you boys come back with your parents then I can not sell you that game. There are lots of other games to choose from," the shopkeeper said but Vic shook his head, "We just want _that _game."

The shopkeeper shrugged in indifference. He had had a feeling these boys weren't going to buy anything from him anyways so why should he really cater to their desires? He'd been in the business long enough to know when kids would dupe him out of a sale and these three boys seemed to be the top of the list.

"Do we still get a discount on the laptop?" Roy asked with a frown and the shopkeeper shook his head.

"It comes in a package. Can't have one without the other."

"What? That's bullshit!" Vic shouted and Teddy yanked on his collar to get him to shut up.

"It doesn't matter. We'll pay for the laptop and the game and pick up the game later. How's that?" Teddy said, turning to the surprised shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper turned this idea around in his head before finally nodding, "The sale ends tomorrow. You boys better be back by then and only if you can afford it," he said, eyes narrowing.

Teddy heard Vic mutter something obscene under his breath but ignored it.

"Roy. Give him the money," Teddy said and the shopkeeper watched in amazement as the boy pulled out a large handful of bills from his pants pocket.

He accepted the money suspiciously, doing several checks to make sure it wasn't fake or if there evidence that it had been stolen.

After what felt like hours he finally put the money in the register and packaged the laptop complete with mouse and webcam into its box.

"Pleasure doing business with you sir," Roy muttered as he accepted the box and he and Teddy dragged Vic outside.

"But we didn't get the game!" Vic hissed once they had started walking back to the Lupin house.

"It's a total rip off without the game. We could have gone somewhere else and gotten an even better laptop for just a few bucks more!"

"No," Teddy said with a surprising air of authority, "We'll get the game. Trust me. I've got a plan."

Vic put two and two together in the blink of an eye, "You're going to steal it? Are you crazy? That store had security camera and everything!"

Teddy waved a hand dismissively, "Technically it's not stealing since we've already paid for it. I call it getting out due. And besides, security cameras don't matter if no one can see us."

Roy raised an eyebrow, "Wasn't magic illegal wh-"

"I know it's illegal Roy," Teddy cut in with an exasperated sigh, "But who says I was going to use magic?"

* * *

"You sure about this Ted?" Vic mumbled as they knocked on the door.

Teddy rolled his eyes at Vic's uncertainty, "Didn't you use to do this all the time? Mr. Street Punk?"

Now it was Vic's turn to raise an eyebrow, "Yeah but I never stole from my _godfather_," Vic accused and, as if right on cue, the door swung open revealing none one other than Harry Potter.

"Ted? What're you guys doing here?" Harry asked a little confused but stepping aside to let the boys enter anyways.

"Hi Harry!" Teddy said enthusiastically, hugging his godfather and shooting Vic a dirty look.

"We're not gonna steal from him," Ted whispered with a roll of his eyes as Harry turned and made off for the kitchen, the three boys lagging slightly behind.

"Suit yourself," Vic mumbled back.

"So. How's trumpet practice?" Harry said with a grin and Roy blushed. For the first few weeks of summer Roy had been practicing the trumpet his brother and Ted had given him for Christmas the year before.

He liked to practice outside and Harry had just happened to stop by when he'd been in his early stages and Teddy's next door neighbor had been screaming for him to shut up. Teddy and Vic had laughed about it but Roy had felt downright embarrassed so Harry had charmed the instrument to help mute the noise a bit.

"Roy's awesome now!" Teddy said with a laugh as Roy's face got redder.

"I only know two songs…" Roy mumbled, "and one of them is Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star…."

Harry laughed, "Well. I can't wait to hear them someday. Now enough of that, what're you boys here for?" he asked, turning to Teddy and effectively changing the topic.

Teddy put on an innocent expression as all heads turned to face him.

"Well…" he started before his face broke out into a grin.

"Can we borrow your invisibility cloak?"

* * *

Well? Think I could continue?


	2. The Cloak

One word: physics.

That's right. If it wasn't for stupid physics I'd be updating like no tomorrow. Turns out though that I'm practically failing the stupid subject so now I'm stuck with two tutors and an insane amount of homework. Oh yeah. And somone stole my wallet on tuesday. Containing about I dunno 100 bucks? Yeah. I hate my life -_-

But. You guys are in luck. Because I got pissed off that SweatDeamon was pwning me in our update war and I thought that I must update! So. Here's the next chapter. Expect spelling errors, grammar problems, random words used in the wrong places and "definantly" used instead of "definitely" (could never spell that stupid word and Word auto corrects it to "definantly")

* * *

The story about the Deathly Hallows was a story told to all wizarding children, good or bad. Even Vic and Roy had been told it at one point or another.

And Teddy, being the godson of none other than The Boy Who Lived had heard it for years. It was simple. Three brothers had cheated Death by building a bridge over his river. Although displeased that he'd been cheated three new victims, Death decided to grant each of the brothers their own powerful magical item.

As the story went, the oldest brother: Antioch Peverell was granted the Elder wand: the most powerful wand in the world. The middle brother, Cadmus Peverell was granted the Resurrection Stone with the ability to revive the dead. Finally, the third brother: Ignotus Peverell was given the cloak of invisibility, a cloak that rendered the wearer invisible and never lost its power.

And that was just the cloak that Teddy needed. Being a rightful descendant of Ignotus himself he felt like he should own the cloak until James or even Al was at least old enough. Harry had frowned at this at first but when Teddy had said that they just needed it to avoid some bullies hanging around the movie theaters he'd reluctantly agreed.

Teddy owed it to the story for this development….but still, he hated the story.

It was a stupid story.

As Teddy remembered it, Antioch was murdered for his wand and Cadmus killed himself when he brought back his wife only to realize that she did not like to be in the living world. Ignotus lasted a bit longer for he hid under the cloak until he was an old man before going off to meet death on his own terms.

But if you thought about it…they had cheated Death already without the objects by building the bridge over his river right? So why did they need them in the first place? Why was it that people killed for these artifacts? That wars had been fought and lives ruined for three stupid little things. Were they really that powerful? Could you really be a master of death if you had them? Everyone in the story had died in the end anyways….

_"Well if worked for Harry,"_ Teddy thought to himself but deep down he didn't believe it…..and he didn't think that a magic hater like Roy believed it either.

"My question is: If it really was the strongest wand in the world why couldn't Antioch just banish Death with it?" Roy muttered as they climbed the stairs of Harry's house towards the attic.

"Hmm. Didn't think of that," Vic whispered back, giving Teddy a nudge when Harry, several steps ahead of them spoke up.

"Here we go, watch your step," Harry said as he opened the door to the attic, "it should be around here somewhere," he muttered as they made their way through the dimly lit room. It was a lot cleaner than Teddy had imagined but still had a rather eerie feeling.

"What do you think?" Harry asked, taking out a dusty old cloak from one of the many trunks stacked against the wall.

"Looks cool," Vic said casually although his eyes showed doubt this old piece of fabric really held any secrets.

"Does it still work?" Teddy asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement.

Harry gave him a smile before throwing the cloak around his shoulders. Instantly, his entire body disappeared leaving just his head.

"WHOA!" Vic shouted, eye bulging, "That's AWESOME!"

Roy gave him a quick nudge to get him to quiet down but Harry just laughed and handed the cloak over to his godson.

"I want it back by the end of the summer," he stated clearly and Teddy frowned, "But- But.."

"No buts. If your dad saw you with that thing he might flip. Who knows what trouble you'll get into if you brought this to school," Harry said patting a scowling Teddy on the head before closing the trunk and leading the boys back downstairs.

"What? And he thinks we're going to be safe using it _now_?" Vic whispered and Teddy fought back a rather wicked grin.

"Thanks for the cloak Harry. I promise not to tell dad," Teddy said as he gave his godfather a hug and shoved the cloak into his pants pocket.

"Good. You boys don't go looking for trouble and I'll see you next week," Harry said with a wink as they said their goodbyes and headed out the door.

"Next week?" Roy asked questioningly and Teddy nodded, "Yeah. It's Harry's birthday. Mrs. Weasley's throwing a party at the Burrow and you guys get to come!"

Teddy watched as a barrage of emotions filtered through Roy's face before it went back to its neutral state, "I dunno Ted," he said slowly and Teddy sighed. Roy and Mrs. Weasley had never been on the best of terms once she'd found out that Roy and Vic were the sons of Death Eaters.

"I'm sure she's gotten over it by now," Teddy said but even Vic shook his head, "Yeah but it's your godfather's _birthday_. We're not even family Ted," he said, "Besides, next week's the Summer Fair. We need to go if we're gonna make enough money for the rest of the school year."

Teddy sighed in sad defeat, he never liked the idea of his friends leaving for the other half of the summer but he guessed it couldn't be helped. He had been thinking of going with them but the idea of spending four weeks in an unfamiliar part of the country without his family didn't seem like a good idea…and since Teddy was still pretty clueless about the Muggle world he feared he'd just get in the way.

"Cheer up Ted, We'll get you a souvenir," Vic said with an encouraging slap on the back.

"And now's not the time to think about that," Roy said, pointing in the general direction of the bus stop with the bus just making its way up the road.

Teddy got the message and immediately nodded, "Right. We're on a mission!"

And, when the bus arrived, Teddy and his friends boarded it with an air of familiarity as they headed back to the computer store.

* * *

By the time the three had managed to get back across the city to the little computer store the sun was starting to set. In a few more hours Teddy and his friends would have to go home for dinner and pick up the laptop from where they'd dropped it off at Victoire's house along the way.

"Sagittarius III here we come," Vic whispered when they were back outside the entrance.

"Do we all really fit in this?" Roy asked frowning at the cloak as Teddy withdrew it from his pocket.

"No. You stay here because we need someone on lookout," Teddy told him before grabbing Vic, "and you come with me," he said as he threw he invisibility cloak over their heads.

Roy heard the distinct sounds of footsteps rounding the corner of the shop before fading off. No doubt they were heading towards the back of the shop.

"They're gonna get caught if they step like that," Roy muttered to himself before leaning his back against the shop window and taking out his Rubik's cube.

On the other side of the building Teddy and Vic had just reached the back entrance.

Not wanting to trip any alarms they ignored the door and went right to the nearest window leading to the basement.

"You know how to pick locks right?" Ted asked and Vic nodded, crouching low and digging into his pocket for a paperclip.

Teddy watched with impatience as Vic worked his magic on the lock, feeling an odd sense of pride as he heard the telltale click of a lock opening.

"Let's go," he whispered as the two boys grabbed onto the window and slowly opened it outwards.

"This isn't going to work," Vic muttered when the window was fully opened and Teddy frowned in agreement. They couldn't both climb through the window while still under the cloak and they couldn't risk taking it off and putting it back on.

"You go wait back with Roy and I'll finish up then," Teddy said and Vic nodded.

If anyone looked towards the side of a small computer store they might have seen a young boy suddenly appear out of nowhere and run towards the front of the store…but no one would have believed it anyways…

Teddy nodded to himself once he was inside the building and took a few seconds to observe his surroundings. Inventory was scattered throughout the basement, labeled boxes were stacked on top of each other while other items had their own designated shelves against the wall.

It was neat, tidy and surprisingly organized and some part of Teddy's mind told him that he could get millions out of this deal but he shook himself.

He wasn't stealing. He'd paid for the game so technically he was just getting his due.

So, before he lost his nerve Ted quickly scanned the shelves along the wall. If he was lucky he'd be able to find where the owner put the video games and save him the trouble of going upstairs.

_"It's got to be around here somewhere,"_ Teddy thought to himself as he quickly scanned the shelves and the labeled boxes.

_"Not that one. Not that one…THERE!"_ Teddy gave a happy little jump in excitement and almost tipped over a stack of boxes beside him.

In a panic he grabbed the boxes before they fell and righted the stack before taking a few breaths of relief.

_"OK. Ted. Almost there."_

The game was nestled in the corner of the far wall on the middle shelf. Its red packaging stood out amongst the other darker colored game boxes around it and Teddy had the vague feeling that it had been misplaced. But it didn't matter.

Being extra careful to step around any obstacles on the floor, Teddy held his breath, stood up on his toes and just managed to nick the side of the box so that it tipped over the edge and fell into his waiting hands.

With a happy smile Teddy quickly weaseled the game under the cloak so that it would disappear from view. The cameras probably saw the game disappear but at least they wouldn't be able to pinpoint the cause for the "theft."

And so, running quickly back to the opened window, Teddy was in the middle of pulling himself. He'd done it. He had the game. They could go home now and show it and the new computer to his parents.

And then someone coughed.

Teddy froze. Eyes as big as saucers and heart in his mouth as he turned around to find the owner of the shop coming down the stairs behind him.

The man, still in his attire from the morning, wore a face of irritation as he adjusted the glasses on his worn face.

"Oh shit," Teddy breathed, transfixed as the shop owner casually walked past the rows of boxes and straight towards him.

Teddy muffled a silent, frightened squeak as he shuffled away from the window.

"He can't see me. I'll be OK. He can't see me," Teddy told himself, quickly moving away from the window; backsliding against the wall and heart hammering in his chest as he went.

But what if he could see him? Invisibility cloaks don't last forever and this one had been in use for ages. Deathly Hallow or not it had to wear off eventually right?

The shop owner was getting closer.

Teddy squeezed his eyes shut. Panicking but not knowing where else to go. Surely making a break for it would only make situations worse.

If he got caught he'd be sent to Muggle prison or at least some sort of school for misbehaving kids. Either way his parents would kill him and Harry would be so disappointed. He'd only wanted a video game!

The shopkeeper had by now reached the window and Teddy was too frightened to do anything else but watch.

"Don't turn around don't turn around please don't turn around," Teddy insisted but the shop owner did nothing more than slam the window closed with an ugly glare.

"Why the hell is the window open?" the shop owner complained, clicking the lock back into place with a key from his pocket. He then turned, muttering something about annoying boys and alarms as he went back the way he came and mounted the stairs.

Teddy stared in mild relief that he hadn't been caught but the relief turned into despair when he realized that now he had no means of escape.

Now he had two options. Re-open the window again…or leave with the shop owner.

Teddy glanced despairingly at the locked window. He wasn't Vic, he couldn't pick locks for his life and breaking the window was not the brightest idea so, checking to make sure that the computer game was still with him, he ran silently through the basement and up the stairs.

The shop owner was still there, busy locking up and re-arranging the merchandise under the counter.

Holding his breath, Teddy silently tip toed past the man and made a beeline for the door. Now all he had to do was wait. The shop owner would surely leave sooner rather than later seeing as it was already pretty late.

Nevertheless, Teddy swore his heart would only start beating again when he was safely out of here.

He took a quick glance out the window and noticed, to his dismay that Roy and Vic were no longer standing by the shop. In fact, Teddy couldn't see his friends at all from his position.

He was startled out of his thoughts from another cough by the shop owner behind him.

Apparently the man was done and was heading towards the door.

Teddy swallowed. This was it. He'd have to get this just right.

_"I can do this."_

The shop owner reached for the door and Teddy tensed. It felt like everything was happening in slow motion as the door opened and the shop owner stepped out.

_"Not yet. Not yet…"_

Then, just as the older man stopped to grab his keys from his pocket Teddy moved. Quickly and silently he scurried past the door.

And by the time the shop owner had found his keys, turned back around and closed and locked the door with a definite click, Teddy Lupin was already halfway through the small parking lot, heading for the nearest tree.

As he sank to the ground in obvious relief behind the tree he watched the store owner quickly get into his car and drive away.

And it was about there when Teddy quickly took off his cloak and gave a huge shout of triumph.

"Quiet down Ted, someone's gonna hear you!"

Ted paused in his own little victory dance to look up at the tree from where he'd taken sanctuary behind.

"Hey Ted," Vic said with a cheeky grin from his position amongst the branches.

"How'd you get up there?" Teddy asked as Vic jumped down to the ground.

Vic shrugged, "Did you get it?" he asked excitedly instead.

Now it was Teddy's turn to grin as he took out the game from under his shirt and pasted it to Vic with an air of triumph.

"COOL!" Vic shouted only for a rock to come sailing from an unknown source and hit him square between the eyes.

"OW!" Vic shouted, rubbing his bruised head, happy mood quickly dispersing.

"Quiet down. Someone's gonna hear you."

Teddy turned to find Roy making his way towards them.

"Where'd you come from?" Ted asked and Roy gave him a shrug.

"Doesn't matter. Let's get out of here. We'll celebrate later," he said, grabbing his scowling brother and leading the group towards the bus stop.

"You didn't have to throw it so hard," Vic muttered and Teddy muffled a giggle at Roy's indifferent shrug.

"I figured your head was hard enough."

* * *

"It's about time you boys came home!" Tonks complained when Teddy and his friends finally appeared in the fireplace.

"WE GOT IT!" Teddy shouted, holding the laptop box over his head and waiving it ecstatically in front of his mother's face.

Tonks sighed at her son's obvious excitement.

"Go give it to dad and get changed. Dinner's getting cold."

Teddy didn't let his mother's indifference get the better of his happy mood.

"Come on," Vic said, bullying Teddy down the hall and towards the family room.

"Dad!" Teddy shouted and Remus on the couch, looked up from the book he was reading.

"GUESS WHAT?" Teddy shouted once more.

"You got the computer," his father replied casually.

"How'd you know that?" Vic asked from behind his friend and Remus gave the boys a smile, "I heard you the first time."

Teddy grinned before running up to his father, proudly displaying the laptop box and the game in its crisp new packaging.

"Got the game too I see," Remus observed as he opened the box on the couch and took out the shiny new laptop.

"YEAH!" All the boys shouted in unison and Remus gave a small smile.

"Let's set it up!" Teddy said, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly but Remus shook his head.

"You boys get ready for dinner before your mother goes in a rage," Remus said, waiving the boys out of the living room with a hand.

"Aww daaad," Teddy whined. "Can't we just set it up first?"

"Go."

With an obvious grumble Teddy stalked out of the living room with his friends to get changed and ready for dinner.

And by the time they had finished their night rituals and gone back into the living room, Teddy and his friends found the laptop all set up on a desk in the corner and Remus was fast asleep on the couch once more.

"How'd he do that?" Vic asked, rushing over and staring at the configured laptop like it was made of diamonds.

Teddy beamed, "Cuz he's **my** dad. Now come on. Put the game in Roy!"

* * *

Just because it's winter break doesn't mean I can garantee that I'll update more. I'll usually be at friends houses doing physics and english projects -_- But I'll try my best.

Review! It'd make my life a little bit happier (wow. I sound emo) :P

PS: SweatDeamon. I'm not actually pissed XD


	3. The Party

Exactly a month later and it was full moon once more. Only this time Teddy wasn't trying to break into a computer store. While Harry's invisibility cloak gathered dust in the bottom of Teddy's trunk, the computer was sucking up electricity and bandwidth like no tomorrow.

It turned out Remus wasn't too bad with computers thanks to a lot of books Roy had gotten for him from the library. Either way, he had had no difficulties setting it up and Teddy and his friends had spent hours on it every day until Tonks shooed them out for some fresh air.

Now, Teddy found himself limited to a few hours of computer time a day. Not that he really minded. There were still plenty of other things to do anyways but today was different.

"So you're really not gonna stay for the party?" Teddy asked a bit disappointedly from his position on the bed.

"Sorry Ted," Vic said with a shrug as he stuffed his belongings into his backpack.

"Harry's not gonna mind," Teddy pointed out but Vic shook his head.

"He might not mind but it'd still be weird if kids he doesn't know show up for his birthday party don't you think?"

"But he_ does_ know you guys," Teddy argued.

"Yeah. Barely," Vic muttered.

Teddy sighed. Vic had a point. With July dying down the two brothers were anxious to start their journey to the Summer Fair where street performers could be paid handsomely by travelling tourists. For two parentless boys attending school it was the best and possibly only time to gain any cash within the year and Teddy knew they were desperate to take advantage of it.

He didn't blame them. They'd had a whole month together. He'd seen more of London and learned more about Muggles in these few weeks than he had in his whole life.

But still, couldn't they wait one more day?

Once Vic had finished packing he straightend, slinging his backpack over his shoulders. Once he noticed Teddy's distinct frown he offered his friend a grin.

"Relax Ted, we still have email and we even taught you how to use the webcam right?" Vic said, slapping his friend on the back.

"I guess," Teddy replied a bit glumly but he got off his bed anyways and followed his friend out the door.

"Roy?" Vic called only for his brother to appear from the kitchen entrance anyways.

"Here," Roy said, passing Vic his soccer ball.

"You boys ready to leave?" Remus asked coming out of the living room and the boys nodded.

"Yup. Thanks for having us over for so long Professor," Vic said with a polite little bow.

"You sure you don't want use to come with you to the train station?" Remus asked with a small frown but Roy shook his head.

"You should get some rest before the moon sir. We can handle it."

Vic nodded his agreement and Remus sighed.

"Well you boys take care. Don't go looking for trouble alright?"

Vic and Roy could only grin at each other, "We can't promise that sir," Vic said and Teddy muffled a snicker.

Remus on the other hand rolled his eyes in mock exasperation before Roy spoke up.

"We'd better get going or we're gonna miss our train," he muttered and Teddy sighed.

"Cheer up Ted. It's just for a few weeks," Vic said as Roy went to fetch his bag.

"We'll talk online," Roy added as he grabbed a handful of Floo powder.

"Yeah OK. You'll be back for school shopping right?" Teddy asked and the brothers nodded.

"See ya soon Ted. Don't you go looking for trouble either you hear me?"

Teddy gave his friends a wicked grin, "Can't promise you that either."

And with an exchange of grins and waves Roy threw down the Floo Powder and in a roar of flames the boys were gone.

"They're gone dad," Ted announced as he went back into the living room.

"Hmm," his father replied, "They'll be back before you know it Ted," he reassured.

"Yeah I know but still," Ted said with a shrug before his mouth finally formed the question that he had been wanting ask for the past month, "Are you happy their gone?"

Remus raised a quizzical eyebrow and Teddy continued.

"I mean. I didn't exactly ask you or mom if it was ok for them to stay so long and I know Mrs. Weasley doesn't like it and-"

"Ted," Remus interrupted, massaging his head with a sigh, "One of these days you're going to realize that it doesn't matter what your mother and I or Mrs. Weasley thinks. Did you know when I was about your age my friends were at my house more often than their owns and Sirius practically lived at James' house all through school."

"So…" Teddy prompted.

"I am perfectly fine with your friends Ted," Remus said, waving a dismissive hand, "You need all the good influences you can get."

"Daaad," Teddy complained but he grinned anyways.

"Now hurry up and get ready. Your mother will be home in a few hours and we have a party to go to," Remus instructed and Teddy nodded before dashing out of the room.

It was nice when your dad admits that your friends are good influences.

* * *

It was mid afternoon when the Lupins found themselves at the door of the Burrow with the telltale signs of a party beginning to unfold inside.

"Hi Teddy!" Victoire shouted from across the hall and Teddy grinned, leaving his parents to do their customary welcomes and running off to play.

"Where're your friends?" Victoire asked and Ted shrugged, "They had to leave for a bit."

"Aww. I wanted to see them," Victoire complained and Teddy laughed. Victoire seemed to have taken a particular interest in Roy who could be quite the charmer without meaning to. When mentioned, Roy would shake his head in denial and Vic and Teddy would have a good laugh.

"They'll be back by the end of the month."

Victoire frowned before suddenly brightening.

"Well then come on! Harrry's gonna be here any second and we still have to decorate!"

And Teddy found himself whisked away by the energetic Weasley.

"Anything we can do to help Grandma?" Victoire asked as she bounded inside the kitchen, Teddy in tow.

"The hall could use some balloons," Molly said thoughtfully before Tonks interrupted.

"That's right. We'll need balloons and streamers and banners and Remus why don't you make yourself useful with some decorating charms?" she said excitedly, running off as her husband looked on from the kitchen table.

"Don't see why not," Remus said, heaving himself to his feet.

"Remus dear you should be resting…" Molly started but Remus waived a dismissive hand.

"I'm fine Molly. It's not even dark out," he said with a smile before turning to Teddy and Victoire in the doorway. "Come on you two. I don't think Deputy Auror Tonks will stop until every inch of this house is covered in some sort of decoration so we'd better get started."

Victoire and Teddy grinned at each other before following Remus out of the room.

It turned out there was plenty of things to do to keep Teddy occupied. He helped Uncle George decorate the hall, he and Victoire got to lick the icing off Molly's cake and when the rest of the family began to arrive, he had the most amusing time keeping the younger children occupied.

And finally, after another hour had passed, there came a knock at the door and the children's excited shouts loudly proclaimed that the guest of honor was finally here.

"Happy birthday Harry!" Teddy shouted as he watched his godfather get swamped by family and friends of all ages.

"Hey Ted," Harry said, picking up a delighted Hugo and ruffling Ted's hair.

"Roy and Vic leave already? I wanted to hear Roy play that trumpet of his," he said thoughtfully, looking around as if expecting them to show up.

"Yeah. They're coming back at the end of the month."

Harry nodded and gave his godson a smile.

"Well then there's nothing to worry about. Come on Ted or you're gonna miss out on the food."

Teddy gave a laugh before running off to the dining room.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. There was food and noise and just good old fun. It was nice to be the older one amongst the children and still be able to participate in discussions by the grownups.

There had been a mock Quidditch match in the backyard, a game of exploding snap after dinner and tag and hide and seek were popular amongst the children. Teddy spent hours chasing after little James and Albus Potter until he felt like his legs would turn to jelly.

"Boo!" James shouted suddenly from behind the couch, causing Teddy to jump.

"It's a monster! Save me!" Victoire squealed, pretending to cower in fear as James jumped onto the couch and began growling.

Watching the five year old looming over Victoire, Teddy couldn't help but laugh and soon the other two were laughing along with him.

"I see you guys are having fun," Harry said, casually walking into the room and picking up his son.

"Yeah!" All three of the children shouted and Harry grinned.

"Yes well. We have to be going now," he said and James pouted in his arms.

"But I'm not tired!" he complained, trying to wiggle free from his father's grasp.

"Oh you will be. Look, Albus and Lily are already asleep," Harry said as his wife walked in with their two other children fast asleep in her arms.

"Now be a good boy and go home with your mother. I have to clean up a few things first," Harry said, finally setting the boy down.

James gave a "humph!" before waddling off obediently to his mother by the Floo.

"I'm still not tired," he proclaimed defiantly but Harry just gave him a knowing smile before throwing a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace.

"Don't be too late OK? You have work tomorrow," Ginny said before disappearing within the flames.

"I give him ten minutes before he's drooling like a baby," Teddy whispered as they left the living room and ran upstairs. Victoire rolled her eyes, "James Potter? Please. I give him five."

Teddy grinned before a voice called out from downstairs.

"Teddy we have to go too," Tonks shouted and Teddy poked his head out from the upstairs banister.

"Aww. Five more minutes?" he whined quite similarly to a certain five year old but Tonks shook her head.

"It'll be full moon in under an hour. You've played long enough as it is."

Teddy gave Victoire beside him a scowl as if to say 'see what I have to put up with?' but Victoire did nothing but shrug and giggle into her hand.

"Give him a few more minutes Dora. I can wait," Remus said from the kitchen and Tonks frowned.

"Now if you suddenly start growing fur and fangs in the middle of Molly's kitchen it'll be your mess to clean up Remus," Tonks said, shooting her husband a look.

"I can assure you that won't happen-"Remus started only to be interrupted by a slap on the back.

"And if it does it's nothing a house of Aurors can't handle," he said with a grin and Ron nodded with a grin while out in the hallway Tonks sighed.

"I thought Dad's usually the one who sighs," Teddy joked as he descended the stairs with a wave of goodbye to Victoire.

"Yes well it appears your father has had one too many glasses of wine this evening," she said with a roll of her eyes as she made off to fetch her belongings.

"And your mother appears to have had long lengthy discussions about raising children," Remus whispered, having made his way out of the kitchen and behind Ted.

"Mom would never do that!" Teddy whispered back with a grin.

"Aye Ted. I saw it with my own two eyes. Your mother has developed a motherly sense. I presume it may be due to constant exposure to the Weasleys."

"No!" Teddy said in mock seriousness, eyes widening, "Will she have to go to Mungo's Dad?"

"Will who have to go to Mungo's?" Tonks interrupted only to raise an eyebrow as the Lupin men both dissolved into hysterical laughter.

"Too much to drink," she muttered to herself. Together, the Lupin family said their goodbyes before heading off to the living room and Remus allowed Ted to snatch up a handful of Floo powder.

"Leaving so soon? If Teddy wants to stay we can get a room ready for him," Molly offered

"No thank you Auntie. I'll go," Teddy said with a smile.

"Such a polite boy," Molly replied with a smile at Remus before giving the family goodbye hugs and heading back into the kitchen.

"Such a polite boy," someone mimicked in a rather high pitched voice behind Ted.

"Shut up," Teddy said with a laugh as he playfully shoved his godfather away from him.

"Aw come now Ted it was a compliment," Harry said as he gave his own goodbye hug.

"Now I hope to see you very soo-"

"HARRY!"

The flames in the grate suddenly sprang to life and out fell Ginny Potter, a handful of sobbing children after her. Teddy was so surprised he dropped a small handful of the Floo powder he was carrying and green flames roared to live in the grate only causing the children to cry harder.

"DADDY!" James shouted, running up to him as Remus quickly helped Ginny onto her feet.

"Daddy it's- it's terrible!" James shouted before Albus interrupted him, "Yeah! Really bad!"

"What happened?" Harry said, picking up his two crying sons and giving his wife a puzzled look.

Ginny, whom Teddy had seen mere minutes before looked nothing like the authoritative mother figure from before, her eyes were wide and clothes in disarray, no doubt from six small hands anxiously pulling at them.

Teddy saw Ginny give her husband a rather desperate look before she said rather breathlessly:

"Harry. I think….I think we were robbed."

* * *

Sorry again for late updates. I was debating whether to end it here or later but then I was afraid the chapter would get too long...but now I think you guys are gonna kill me because I take so long to update and I ended on a cliffhanger :P

And don't forget to review!


	4. Bullets

Figured I should get another chapter up before a) exams start b) people start killing me and c) I can't lose this war!

It's a longer chapter so hope you guys enjoy it.

* * *

_"Who would want to rob the Potters?"_

That had been Teddy's first thought when Ginny had uttered that one simple sentence.

"What was taken?" Harry asked instead but Ginny only shrugged helplessly, "I don't know but the house is a mess!"

Harry muttered something under his breath before handing his sons to Molly.

"Stay here," he said to his wife before, with the air only the Head of Aurors could master, he took out his wand and looked over to the rest of the family crowding in the living room.

"Coming?"

Everyone nodded and Teddy watched mutely as one by one, Aurors and former Order members disappeared into the fireplace.

"It OK now?" Albus said, reaching for his mother's hand and Ginny gave him a small smile.

"Yes. Your dad will have things sorted out in a giffy so don't you worry," she replied, ruffling his hair softly.

"Yeah! Cause Dad's Head of Aurors!" James said proudly and Teddy realized that it wasn't _who _would rob the Potters. It was _how_.

There were certainly criminals out there who had a bone to pick with Head Auror Harry Potter but surely Harry would have had some wards up or something to prevent criminals from getting in right? It was his job!

"Well we can't just keep standing by the fireplace. Come on all of you to the kitchen," Molly said, interrupting Teddy thoughts.

"Let's go," Victoire whispered from behind Ted and he nodded, mind still busy thinking of ways to get into a warded household.

_"Maybe they used house elves or some other creature that wasn't affected by the wards." _Teddy thought to himself as he half listened to James describe their house upon arrival.

"There was stuff everywhere! The chairs were tipped over and paper everywhere and the drawers didn't have drawers anymore and the cupboards were all flung open. Maybe they went into my room. What if they took my action figures? They'd better not or I'll punch their bloody lights out!"

"James. I think that's quite enough," Ginny said with small frown and the child immediately sobered.

So, while some children napped on their mothers' shoulders and whispered to each other in hushed voices Teddy took Victoire's hand and lead her to the dining room.

"You think everything's gonna be alright?" Victoire asked a bit nervously and Teddy nodded firmly.

"Definitely, my parents are there, your dad and uncles are there, it'll be cleared up by tea time tomorrow," he said with a proud smile and Victoire gave a small smile back before both children were startled by the sudden roaring of the fireplace.

In a heartbeat, mothers and children were in the living room waiting to hear the news.

"It's alright. Nothing was taken. At least nothing of value," Remus said, slowly exiting the fireplace and Teddy heard several breathe a sigh of relief at the news.

"Ginny. If I can have a word with you," Remus said and Ginny nodded, handing her daughter to her mother before quickly leaving the living room.

Teddy and the rest of the room's occupants remained silent for a moment before everyone seemed to erupt into bubbling conversation.

"See! Dad can do anything!" James said, tackling a laughing Albus to the floor as the other children cheered.

The grownups however were far less ecstatic, some still seemed worried and all of them whispered amongst themselves with rather serious faces.

Teddy chose to ignore them for a moment before turning back to Victoire, "See? Told you there was nothing to worry about," he said with a smug grin and Victoire beamed at him.

"Thanks Ted."

Teddy grinned back before a hand his attention was diverted when Remus and Ginny reentered the room.

"Come on Ted. I think that's enough excitement for the day," Remus said, ushering the boy into the fireplace.

Teddy waved goodbye to Victoire before following and in an instant the Burrow's living room was gone and instead was the Lupins' familiar dining room.

Teddy didn't even have time to catch his breath before his father moved away and towards the front door.

"Dad?" he asked, perplexed when his father took out his wand and began muttering to himself.

"….Dad?" Teddy repeated hesitantly but Remus did not appear to hear him. Instead he pocketed his wand and fiddled with the doorknob a bit before nodding in apparent satisfaction.

"Dad!" Teddy shouted, flinging his arms his father.

"Can't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"What's wrong is the fact that I have less than ten minutes before full moon and your mother is staying at Harry's for a little longer so you're going to be here alone," Remus replied, looking down at his son.

"You don't have to worry about me," Teddy said with a pout but he let his father go anyways, "And technically I'm not alone. You'll still be here."

He watched his father give a shrug before opening the door to the basement.

"Be good. No junk food and don't go to bed too late," Remus informed before shutting the door behind him.

Which left Teddy feeling suddenly alone…

With a sigh Teddy switched on the wireless letting soft music flow into the suddenly silent house.

"We need a TV," Teddy muttered to himself before settling himself down in front of the laptop.

A quick check on his email showed that Roy and Vic had arrived at their destination. Vic had apparently been train sick half the way but both brothers had hoped Ted had had fun at the party.

"Oh boy do I have a story for them!"

And with a rather excited grin Teddy began to type his first ever email.

Teddy was by no means a fast typer and it took almost an hour to finish what he wanted to say. In the end it was more like he was writing a book rather than an email but he sent it anyways and waited anxiously for a reply.

To pass the time he figured he might as well watch a movie. Vic had introduced him to a series. Each movie had everything Teddy wanted, cool Muggle gadgets, chase scenes, explosions, guns, fights, everything, and it was even centered in Britain. It was all about the secret service and a man who beat up bad guys and always won. Teddy wished he was that guy. What was his name? Oh yeah. Bond. James Bond.

Teddy grinned to himself. That was how life should be. Justice would prevail and all the bad guys would be locked up.

Knock knock knock.

Teddy sighed, "I'll go to bed soon Dad!" he shouted without looking up from the screen.

Knock knock knock.

"After this movie! Promise!" Teddy replied before his voice was cut off.

Knock knock knock

It was only after Teddy had turned around towards the hall that housed the door to the basement did he notice that the knocking was actually coming from the front door.

"Shit," he muttered, pausing the video. Trust his mother to forget her keys today of all days.

Socked feet slipping on the varnished wooden floor, Ted gracefully slid up to the door and flung it open without a second thought, a sigh half formed for his mother's forgetfulness.

And it was only then that he realized that his mother would have used to Floo to come back from Harry's….

"Good evening," A deep voice drawled, "Are your parents home young man?"

Teddy stared at the man before him, a feeling of dread slowly surfacing from the pit of his belly.

Teddy had looked up to James Bond for a few months now. He thought of Bond as a hero; as someone special. He could take down men twice his size; he used his brains and his brawn and above all never forgot to be a gentleman.

Bond knew how to take his martinis and dress sharp and the man standing before Ted on the Lupin's doorstep seemed to know that too. Black blazer on top of crisp white dress shirt and even the shoes were shiny. A shiny chain hung from his neck before disappearing into his shirt and Teddy had a sneaking suspicion this man was armed.

"Umm. My dad's home but he's sick. Why don't you come back later?" Ted said with a nervous smile. He suddenly had a respect for Goldfinger and all those other Bond villains. Ted was having a hard time just keeping his voice straight.

He tried to close the door but the man in the suit held up a hand, keeping the door from closing.

"Well then we'd like to ask you a few questions," the man continued, pushing the door back open and taking a rather menacing step into the house.

Ted quickly backed up.

_"We? Who's we? And what did I do? Is this about the game?"_

Questions filtered through Ted's head surged on by fear.

"My mom should be home soon. Why don't you ask her instead?" Ted said, slowly backing further and further into the house.

He whished his dad wasn't locked up in the basement…

"I'm afraid we can't do that," the man said and before Teddy could even his arm shot out and grabbed Ted's wrist.

"And we'd appreciate it if you could come with us," the man drawled and Teddy felt panic grip him. Every instinct told him to run and was that thumping noise his heart or something else? He struggled feebly to get away from the man but he had an iron like grip on his wrist and soon he was pulled face to face with the man.

The thumping sound became harder.

"Now be a good boy-"

"Let me go!" Ted shouted rather desperately, swinging his free arm with all his might.

The man easily dodged the flailing limb but Teddy just managed to nick his neck. His fingers instinctively closed around the first thing it touched and Ted was quick to jerk his arm away before it could be grabbed.

Whatever the hell his hand had been snagged on came loose sending a peculiar looking ornament falling to the floor.

There was a short tense silence as both Ted and the man stared at the object.

It was a tooth. Fairly small yet long and sharp thus making it in no way a human tooth and was that a cross carved on its side? There was writing on that cross.

The thumping was getting faster.

Ted naturally bent down to reach for it only for a strong hand to suddenly grab the back of his shirt and slam him into the nearby wall.

"Don't touch that," the man snarled and Ted flinched away as the man let go of him and he sank to the floor.

He watched the man reach to pick up his necklace and took the brief window of opportunity he had.

In one fluid motion he'd picked himself up from the floor and made a dash for the open door.

"Stop!" The man commanded but Teddy dodged the arm reaching to grab him and bolted.

"Get him!"

Ted didn't even have time to wonder who the man was talking to before his foot found its way out of the door….

And straight into the arms of someone else.

"What the-? Hey! Let me go!" Teddy shouted, thrashing around in the other man's arms. This man was skinnier than the previous one but he too was dressed in a suit as if he was a part of the Secret Service.

_"**Are** they a part of the Secret Service? Are they Muggles? Wizards wouldn't dress like that."_

"Dad!" Ted cried in one last desperate plea for help.

And he should have known that should he ask he would receive for in that instant came a sound of splintering wood and creaking hinges as the basement door flew across the width of the hall.

Everyone's attention was drawn to it, staring as amongst the wreckage a huge wolf came charging straight for Ted.

The man holding Ted gave a startled shout and released Ted who fell to the floor.

For a split second Ted just lay there, registering alarmed shouts, howls and growls as his father took a running leap right on the back of the man, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Then there was a bark. It was a warning.

_"Run!"_

And Ted kicked himself into action. His hands blindly found leverage as he hoisted himself up and turned.

The man behind him had a shock of surprise and fear at the sight of the werewolf but Teddy didn't find time to mock him for his feet were taking him away from everything as he ran through the house and towards the door leading to the backyard.

Something in the house crashed. Teddy vaguely suspected it was his mother's vase by the front door. Another sound followed soon after and this one made Teddy jump and turn his head in alarm. The crack of a gun was loud enough to drown out the rest of the scuffle and it sent Teddy back into a state of panic.

They had guns. Not even dad could dodge a bullet. What did they want with him? Wasn't this all a bit much over a simple video game?

Something at the back of Teddy's mind was starting to think that this wasn't just about a game….

Another shot rang out.

"Hold him down!" someone shouted.

"I can't!"

Teddy squeezed his eyes shut before forcing himself to move. His dad would be fine. He'd just get in the way if he went back. And with that thought he wrenched the back door open and ran outside.

The Lupin household was not by any means a large house but it was well away from the rest of the Muggles. It sat at the edge of a forest that ran for miles, far out in the countryside where the howls of a rampaging werewolf would never be heard. There were plenty of trees and animals and Ted had developed a pretty good mental map of the area.

Ted made himself scarce, leaping through the small hedge of bushes and into the forest. Fueled by fear Ted ran until his heart was pounding and his legs felt weak. He found a hollow tree trunk and ducked under it, drawing up his legs and shutting his eyes, trying to calm his erratic breathing.

A twig cracked from behind him and Teddy's eyes snapped open. There was something behind him; outside the log and Ted clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle his breathing.

There was a small whine. Like a puppy.

Relief flooded through Ted as he gave a rather hysterical laugh and at the end of the trunk appeared a pair of rather concerned yellow eyes.

"Bloody hell dad! You scared the shit outta me!" Teddy said, crawling out of the trunk and giving his father a giant hug.

Remus gave a small frown at his son's use of language but he didn't think it showed much in his current state. He shook himself out of Ted's grasp and gave him a scrutinizing look.

"I'm ok," Teddy said with a nod and Remus sighed in relief before dropping a few objects to the ground.

"Shoes? ….and my coat?" Teddy asked, raising an eyebrow. He figured only his dad would bother with shoes and a jacket at a time like this.

With a sigh he quickly put them on before he found himself being pushed back towards the log.

"Wait. Where're you going?" Ted asked him grabbing onto his father's tail as he turned.

The werewolf gave a whine but turned and softly pushed Ted back into the log with his head.

"You're not going back are you?" Teddy asked a bit fearfully and his father gave another whine.

_"He's worried about mom,"_ Ted thought and he reluctantly let go.

Remus nudged him softly once more.

"Alright alright I'm going," Teddy said, ducking down and crawling back into the hollow trunk.

His father gave him a look that clearly said "Don't move," before he disappeared back into the trees leaving Teddy alone in the forest.

"Come back soon dad," Teddy whispered to no one in particular.

* * *

"This is crazy," Remus thought to himself as he ran through the forest.

He remembered just a few minutes ago he'd been warm and cozy in his bed in the basement only for his peaceful slumber to be interrupted by the ring of a doorbell.

No one was expected to visit and surely no one that couldn't take the Floo. Curiosity and suspicion had gotten the better of him and he climbed the steps of the basement to lean his ear against the door.

His acute hearing had picked up Teddy opening the door and the stammer in his voice had been evident when he spoke.

This wasn't good. Not with what had just happened at Harry's place just a few hours ago.

With a growl Remus ran to fetch his wand by the bed and holding it firmly between his teeth he tried to undo the many spells and locks on the door.

After a while he spat the wand out in frustration, backed up a few steps and rammed his shoulder into the door.

A series of thuds echoed throughout the house but it was only when Remus heard his son's desperate cry for help that he found the extra strength in him to bust the door right off its hinges.

He hadn't had much time to feel proud of his accomplishment. A quick sweep up the corridor saw three pairs of eyes staring at him in shock and surprise.

One set of eyes stood out to him the most and protective rage fueled him as he dashed past the first man and tackled his son's captor to the ground.

Mayhem had ensured after that but his son had left by then and for that he was thankful. It was hard resisting the urge to use his teeth but the positive thing about a werewolf was that he was capable of standing on both four legs and two.

The shelf by the front door had fallen when he'd thrown a man into it and he'd vaguely had the thought that he would repair Dora's favourite vase later.

He had been rather surprised when he'd noticed more men were rushing over to the door from a parked car outside but he was grimly certain he could keep them all occupied until Teddy had the time to escape.

The problem was he was _not_ expecting all the men in his house to suddenly pull guns on him.

Remus was more connected to the Muggle world than most people but that still didn't mean he had ever seen a gun before let alone get shot at by one. If it wasn't for canine reflex he'd probably be in a quite a lot of pain right now.

And the gun also raised the question. Were these men Muggles? They had surely looked shocked to see a werewolf come bursting through the door and their weapons, means of transportation and clothing suggested that yes. They were Muggles.

But what would Muggles want with them?

Another shot was fired.

Remus had fled.

Now as he circled his own house he felt like a criminal. He wasn't supposed to be outside and surely Tonks would go crazy if she found her house a wreck and her boys gone.

So, keeping close to the tree line he watched his house from afar.

There were no lights on but his senses told him that the men were still somewhere close by.

He wouldn't leave his wife out to defend against herself. Surely when she got home from Harry's she would be expecting some rest and relaxation and Remus didn't like the idea that she would indeed have her guard down as she floo'ed right into the middle of armed men stalking the house.

He was getting restless. Should he wait for her or go back to Ted? How long were these men going to be here? Were they even in the house?

No noise. No lights and his nose couldn't pick up anything. It was probably safe by now. Surely the men had either gotten what they were looking for or had given chase after the two of them.

He waited a few more agonizing seconds before giving up. With a growl Remus rose back onto his feet and ran the length of the backyard skidding to a halt by the back door.

It was hard opening the door but he managed it and snuck inside.

The first thing he noticed was the man leaning casually against the wall directly opposite from the door.

_"Shit!"_

A shot echoed throughout the house.

* * *

Teddy was getting fidgety and why was it so cold? It was summer dammit!

He blew on his hands and rubbed them together. Now he was thankful that his dad had the sense to get him his jacket and shoes before leaving.

"Where are you dad?" Ted muttered to himself quietly as he peeked outside the trunk in the hopes of seeing the figure of a large grey wolf coming towards him.

A part of him marveled at the irony but it was quickly refreshed with hope as he heard barking.

_"Finally!"_

And then he saw the light. And the sounds of footsteps that were much too loud and unsteady to be those of a werewolf.

Never before had Teddy's heart soared and plummeted in such a short period of time.

"Shit shit shit. Gotta go. Gotta go," Teddy mumbled as he noticed the lights moving closer and closer to his area.

The men were shouting something. Teddy didn't know what. It sounded like it was from a different language and Teddy paid it no mind.

Instead he ran out from underneath the cover of the hollow tree and ran further into the forest.

His eyes had long since adjusted to the full moon's light gleaming down in the forest and he tried his best to stay as quiet as possible as he ran further in.

To be quite honest Ted had no clue where he was going. He couldn't go back home and he didn't even know where this "forest" ended. Would it take him straight into a safe, crowded area where other people would be sure to help or did this place stretch on forever like the Forbidden Forest in Hogwarts?

Ted didn't know. Ted didn't care. He had to get _away._

Away from the lights, the voices and the barking dogs. No doubt they were following his scent. His best bet was to walk in water. Scent got washed away in water but he'd never once found any stream or pond in this area.

"Ok. Calm down Ted. Relax. Get to a tree. Yeah. They can't reach you if you're high up."

Ted nodded to himself, finding an easy to climb tree before him and running up to it. If he could get up to the top the dogs couldn't reach him and the men couldn't shoot at something they couldn't see right?

He tested the weight of the closest branch with his foot before hoisting himself up.

It was relatively easy the first few branches but the sound of barking dogs getting louder and louder made Teddy freeze. He looked down. He wasn't high enough and panic gripped him when he realized: "what was stopping the men from climbing up after him."

The barking was getting louder.

Teddy blindly lifted his foot up to rest it on another branch, eyes glued to the lights getting closer and closer by the forest floor.

CRACK!

And Teddy was falling. The branch he'd been standing on hadn't been able to hold his weight and before Teddy had any clue what was going on he'd landed on his back with a heavy thud.

Men burst from the treeline and Ted shielded his eyes from the light for a moment.

"Run," his brain screamed at him and in that split second he'd scrambled up onto his legs and bolted.

Teddy didn't get far though for the dogs were on him in a split second. One grabbed him by the pants leg sending Teddy tumbling to the ground.

He turned and kicked it away only for another dog to take a running leap for his face.

He held his arms up, waiting for the blow before the dogs seemed to freeze.

Teddy froze too. Anticipating an attack that never came for it was right at that instant that a giant wolf leaped over the dogs, grabbed Ted by the back of his shirt and carried him away.

"Dad!" Teddy cried out in relief. He shielded his face in his arms as they jumped through a series of hedges; branches and leaves scratching him as they went.

A shot rang out and Teddy gave a shout of alarm as the tree beside them seemed to chip off by an invisible force.

_"This is crazy_!" Ted thought to himself as Remus hastily changed direction. Teddy reached up and held onto his father's head as they ran; fearful of what might happen should his jacket suddenly rip.

His jacket was dragon skin but it couldn't stop a bullet could it?

"Where are we going?" Teddy asked but he doubted his father could hear him as more shots rang out from behind them.

_"Not even dad can outrun a bullet," _Teddy thought grimly as he tucked his legs up more to prevent them from dragging on the ground as they ran.

They burst through a line of trees.

Three men standing by a car looked at them.

_"Shit!"_ Both Lupins thought as they ran back into the forest.

More shots. More shouts. Teddy was watching numbly as they passed tree after tree; bush after bush. It was all starting to look like green blurs around him.

He hoped his dad knew where they were going. Were they just running blindly; going farther and farther into the never ending forest? How did they know they weren't just running in circles?

Teddy hoped that wasn't the case as they ran up a hill.

Another shot rang out. Louder and cleared than all the others and it nicked Remus in the shoulder.

Teddy gave a shout of alarm as his father tripped from the force of the blow and both of them tumbled down the rest of the hill.

And it was then that Teddy's "never-ending forest" suddenly ended.

It felt like he was flying.

As the "hill" turned out to be a cliff, Remus failed to stop in time before both Lupins were sent falling down to the road below.

Teddy landed more or less on his feet, only rolling slightly to try to lessen the blow to his legs.

But it didn't really help much for a split second later the breath was knocked out of him as an over 200 pound werewolf suddenly landed right on top of him.

It took a few seconds for Ted to regain his breath as Remus hastily got off his son and looked down at him with a worried expression.

He gave a tentative lick to Ted's face as a sort of apology and it was then that a very high, very feminine scream echoed throughout the area.

Ted and Remus jolted slightly at the sound.

"A wolf! A wolf! Oh God! Someone help that boy!"

Teddy whipped his head to the source of a noise.

A women by the side of the road was screaming her head off, hands cupped around her mouth and grocery bags spilled on the floor.

"Someone! Someone! Help! It's a wolf!" The lady cried and Ted leapt to his feet as Remus slowly backed up.

"Wait!" Ted shouted but it was too late as lights were turning on in the houses nearby and men rushed out.

"Hurry! Come quick it's attacking the boy!"

In a few moments Remus and Teddy were surrounded.

"Wait!" Teddy cried again only to be grabbed by strong arms pulling him away.

"Dad!" Ted cried and his father reached up and bit down on the end of Ted's jacket. He'd worked so hard to keep his son safe. He wasn't going to lose him to some random Muggles he didn't know.

"Let go you beast!" A man shouted, striking Remus in the face with a shovel. Remus winced at the blow but he held on regardless.

Panicked shouts muffled out Teddy's shouts to stop and after a few more shovels and sticks to the face Remus was starting to see stars.

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

Everyone paused to look at the man coming towards them and Ted's eyes widened. A strong looking man was coming towards them dressed in overalls and boots. He had a fierce, angry look on his face and many people moved aside quickly to let him through.

It was only when he was close enough that Ted noticed the awfully large shotgun gripped tightly in the man's hand.

"Wait!" Ted shouted, fear gripping at his chest like a vice. The man didn't seem to hear him as he stared at the werewolf who had let go of Ted to growl at the intruder.

_"Don't growl! Run!"_ Ted though desperately as strong arms lifted him up as if he were a rag doll.

"Wait! Let me go!" Teddy said, thrashing in the arms that held him.

"Easy boy. It'll be alright," someone said by his ear but Ted didn't even turn his head to look at him. It wasn't going to be alright. Not if that man in the overalls kept pointing that blasted gun at his father.

"Stop!" Ted shouted, reaching over and biting the hand that held him.

"Ow! Hey! Cut that out! We're trying to save you!" someone shouted but Ted growled low in the throat.

"Save me my ass! Let me go!" Ted cried. He watched the man cock his gun with agonizing precision.

"STOP IT!" Ted shouted. Anger and fear burned within him and something snapped.

His magic surged outwards, slamming into all those around him in waves. It was as if an invisible force had expanded out from him like a supernova. Whatever had happened, Teddy didn't care. As people were blasted right off their feet they lost their grip on Ted and he took off running.

He watched as the man flawlessly nestled the butt of the gun on his shoulder and took aim.

The man pulled the trigger.

Teddy planted himself before the bullet and the target.

Something tackled him violently to the floor.

BANG!

It turns out Ted was right. Not even his dad could dodge a bullet and as he lay on the cold sidewalk for what felt like an eternity he was terrified to realize that his hands were soaked in blood.

People were shouting but Teddy was too dazed to figure out who. He caught snippets.

"The boy!"

"Stay back! It's still alive!"

BANG!

* * *

And the cliffhanger wars continue.

Thanks to everyone who made it this far and are kind enough to leave a review :)


	5. Questions

Don't you hate it when you're writing and writing and you just can't stop? XD So yeah. I just finished my english exam about an hour ago and my other exams are on tuesday so...this happened :P Again it's pretty long. Hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

_"Blood. There's **blood**."_

"The boy!"

_"Why's this happening? What did I do wrong?"_

"Stay back! It's still alive!"

_"This isn't fair."_

BANG!

A gun cracked in the night once more and no matter how many time he'd heard it tonight Ted was still shaken from his thoughts at the sound.

There was silence but Teddy could still hear his father's ragged breathing.

So if that last gunshot wasn't the final blow. What was it?

He wormed himself out from under the werewolf's limp body and turned his head.

The crowd parted just a bit, all staring at the new intruder as another man stood with a gun in the air, smoke still rising from the barrel.

This man was lankier than all the other men Ted had seen. In the dark streets he looked like a shadow with hunched shoulders as he lowered his gun and took a few steps towards the werewolf.

No one stood in his way.

He was dressed in a suit as well only instead of a blazer he had a trench coat which swayed ominously in the breeze. A fedora covered black hair and a good half portion of his face.

Not being able to see his face made Ted feel oddly chilled.

This man, although smaller than the previous ones, had an air around him that did not like being messed with.

He didn't say a word as he reached for Ted and Ted was much too stunned to even utter a retort as a black gloved hand wrapped around his wrist.

He found himself being pulled out from underneath the bleeding werewolf and pushed aside.

Still, no one said a word.

The man then took off his trench coat and a quick, violent jerk at his tie undid that as well.

_"What's he doing?" _Ted though but the atmosphere was much too tense to voice such opinions out loud.

The man bent over and wrapped the coat around the bleeding werewolf, using the tie to keep it in place.

Everyone watched him work but no one said a word.

Eventually, the man straightened, slinging the werewolf over his shoulder with some difficulty and staggering slightly at the sudden weight.

Still, this man was stronger than he looked.

_"Who is he? What does he want?"_

Ted started to protest but the man turned and tipped his hat a bit. Ted had a feeling the man was looking at him; waiting.

This was too weird.

On impulse, Ted fell in step next to the man.

The man gave a single nod before turning and walking away.

The crowd parted, some giving hushed whispers, others eyeing the gun poking out from underneath the man's belt warily.

"Hold it. Where do you think you're going?" someone growled and Ted and the man found their route blocked by the man with the shotgun from earlier.

He really had two options. Go with the mystery man in the fedora who had bandaged his father or with the scary looking man with the shotgun who had shot his father.

Quickly he backed up behind the man in the fedora.

The seconds counted down as the two men stared at each other. No one said a word and even the whispers died.

Ted blinked.

And before he knew it the man carrying the werewolf had drawn his gun and pointed it straight at his opponent.

"Move."

One word. Ted detected steel in that voice and the gun was pointed true and firm at the other man's forehead.

Ted noticed the victim tense his arm as if he was itching to use his weapon.

_"There's no way he can cock it and shoot before us,"_ Ted thought to himself and the other man seemed to have realized that he was fighting a losing battle.

"Get out. And take that_ thing_ with you," the man snarled instead before turning on his heels and leaving.

The man stuffed his gun back into its holster and re-adjusted his burden.

Then, with a brief tilt of the head to Ted they were off again.

It was a slow walk and Teddy was quite aware of the multitude of eyes staring at him.

He focused his gaze on his shoes instead and tried to not let his confusion and fear consume him.

Before they knew it they'd reached a car and the man opened the back seat.

Ted faltered. He knew he shouldn't go in but what could he do? This man had his dad and where else could he go? Surely it was better to stick together and pray his mother found them in time right?

So with a nervous gulp Ted climbed into the backseat of the car.

It wasn't a large car but it wasn't too small either. Nevertheless it took a lot of awkward positioning before the man managed to squeeze the large werewolf into the back seat as well.

And almost as an afterthought the man reached over and did up Ted's seatbelt along the way.

Now Ted sat in the backseat with his father's werewolf head pooled in his lap.

"It'll be OK Dad. Just hang in there," Ted whispered but he instantly went back to silence as the man re-entered the car, breathing rather heavily from his deeds.

The car roared to life and they sped away at what Ted didn't suspect was a safe speed but he didn't complain.

He tried looking at the man once more but all he saw was shadow. The fedora hid too much and the night shadows only intensified the mystery.

His hands curled around his father's soft fur and for a time all that could be heard was the roar of an engine and Remus' ragged breathing.

It was only when Ted couldn't stand the silence anymore that he spoke.

"Where are you taking us?" he asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

The man stayed silent. His expression, or at least what could be seen of it, remained neutral and Ted sighed in frustration.

"Can you at least tell me who you are?" Ted asked.

The man was silent for a beat and Ted thought he wasn't going to answer until he finally spoke.

"_That_. Is the question," he muttered as he turned into a cluster of tress.

Teddy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the vague answer but he was more distracted with the route the man was taking.

This wasn't a main road. It was much too narrow and tree branches occasionally wacked at the windshield when they got too close.

His suspicions skyrocketed when they passed a sign that said in clear black letters, "No trespassing."

Teddy frowned deeply; clutching his father a bit tighter.

_"Relax Ted. Maybe he's here to help,"_ Teddy thought to himself.

After a few minutes of nervous fidgeting and just watching his father breathe Ted's head snapped up when he noticed light down the road. Not pale moonlight but bright vibrant light that could only belong to lamps or torches.

He straightened a bit in his seat trying to see where such light was coming from.

A few seconds later the narrow road parted, the trees gave way and the car drove smoothly over fresh asphalt.

Teddy was shocked. Before him was a house. It wasn't a mansion but it was much larger than Ted's. The light from earlier were from the porch lights and other lights littered throughout the compound.

It vaguely reminded of those rich people houses that Ted had seen in magazines.

The man stopped the car by the house and quickly got out, leaving the door ajar as Ted watched him walk swiftly up the stairs and take out a key, opening the door with only a brief pause.

Then the man disappeared from Ted's view and he realized all he could do now was wait.

He didn't have to wait long for the man appeared once more. This time with two other people. One was a white haired man with glasses and a beard to complete the look. The other is larger. Much larger. Tall and buff he reminds Ted of the man with the shotgun from before only this man has a beard and his hair is bright red.

Two women were also seen poking their heads out from the doorway with curious glances before the man in the fedora ushered them back inside.

"He's huge!" the white haired man exclaimed as soon as he opened the backseat door.

Teddy instinctively clutched his father tighter only for the door by his end of the car to open.

Ted turned to the red head who smiled down at him.

"Hey kid. Your wolf friend here's gonna be just fine but you have to get out of the car first OK?" he asked and Ted stared at the man for a few more seconds. His voice was soft and his eyes were gentle. If one were to go based on appearances this person looked trustworthy enough.

"We're not going to hurt him," the man continued when he noticed Ted's hesitation, "We're doctors. We can help."

The word "doctor" had Ted's brain go into overdrive. These men didn't _look _like doctors. And surely that man in the fedora was no doctor if he carried a gun around with him. Nevertheless, that one simple word seemed to give Ted a small feeling of hope.

Besides, what choice did he have?

So, eyes still locked with the red haired man before him, Ted undid his seatbelt and slowly got out of the car.

"Can you handle him Richard?"

"Please. If _he_ can do it you honestly think I can't?" Richard exclaimed, jerking a thumb at the man in the fedora leaning by the front door.

The older man nodded before coming round to the other end of the car and offering Ted a reassuring smile.

"Come on. Let's get you inside. What's your name son?"

Ted turned away from the sight of Richard picking up the massive wolf from inside the car. Instead he climbed the stairs with the elderly man, walked past the man in the fedora and entered the house.

"My name's Ted. My friends call me Teddy," he explained a bit nervously and the old doctor nodded as he led the boy to the living room.

"Helena? Myra? Did you two set up the table yet?" the man asked to the two women in the room.

"Working on it!" one of them mumbled, "But someone better give us a good explanation when we're done!"

"I'm sure we can work something out," the old man replied, leading Teddy to a sofa and coaxing him to sit down.

"The name's Aristotle Rodor but just call me Tot," the man said before beckoning the two women over to him. It looked like they had finished setting up the table in the corner of the large room.

"And these two lovely ladies are my daughters, Myra and Helena," he continued with a smile.

"Well technically I'm his daughter in law," Helena said, offering Teddy a smile. She was rather attractive with long black hair and a slim frame. Myra was similar only her red hair was tied up in a ponytail and her ripped and faded jeans reminded Ted of his mother's choice of casual wear. Both women looked around Ginny's age; maybe slightly younger in Myra's case.

There was a thump and everyone turned towards the entrance of the living room.

"And that's my eldest: Richard," Tot said with a nod at the man carrying the werewolf to the table.

Ted starred at the blood trail the duo was leaving for only the briefest of moments before turning away to look at Rodor.

"So you're all doctors?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well Richard and I are yes," Rodor said thoughtfully, "Myra here's just started her apprenticeship. She'll be graduating in a few more years."

"What about him?" Ted asked, pointing to the man standing by the living room door.

"Him? He's my middle child. He's a pylon," Rodor muttered with a frown as the man turned on his heel and left the room all together.

"Pylon?" Ted asked and Rodor shrugged, "Someone who just takes up space and has no use," he muttered.

"So he doesn't have a job?" Ted asked and the doctor gave him a wry smile, "Now. That _is_ the question isn't it?" he replied before patting Ted on the head and getting up to observe his new patient.

Ted watched him get up with a small frown. That was the second time today that he'd been given that answer.

"This is quite some animal you have here," Tot said after a while.

Ted looked up to find that they had placed his father on his side and Richard had already removed the trench coat that was slowly soaking up more and more blood as time wore on.

"Bullet went right through. Probably clipped his lung," Richard said with a small frown.

"What species is he?"

Ted gulped. He had a feeling this answer was coming sooner or later. There was a long silence as four pairs of eyes stared at him and he fidgeted uncomfortably.

It was better if he told them. What if his father bit someone by accident? He'd been told that no one deserved the curse of a werewolf. Especially people trying to help. Besides, his parents could probably obliviate them later if things went bad.

"He's a werewolf," Teddy finally said, looking at the old doctor straight on to prove that he wasn't lying.

Surprisingly enough, no one laughed at him, no one raised any eyebrows or even started asking weird questions.

Instead, Dr. Rodor did the weirdest thing of all.

He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"With a pylon for a son why am I not surprised?" Rodor asked to himself as he excused himself and left the room. Richard gave his father a wry grin.

"It's true!" Ted said leaping to his feet, fearing the doctors did not believe him.

"He'll change back once the moon's down. You have to believe me," Ted said only to be cut off when Richard held put up a hand.

"Whether or not we believe you is irrelevant," he started, "We don't know how to treat him. We don't know the anatomy of a werewolf. We don't know what drugs work on him and if he changes back to a human then the stitches won't hold."

Richard took in Ted's confused yet panicked face and frowned, "Why don't you tell us everything boy? It'll be beneficial for all of us I'm sure.

And Teddy, with a few more seconds of uncomfortable fidgeting finally spoke.

"What do you want to know?" he mumbled and Helena took his hand and made him sit down.

"Well. Let's start with him. And then we can go on to you," she said and Ted frowned. "Well. I don't know much about him."

"Is he your pet?"

"He's my dad," Ted said a bit more forcefully than he'd intended.

Richard gave a dry laugh. "Well then I won't ask you how long you've known him then," he muttered.

"OK. So anything we need to know about him?" Helena prodded and Teddy nodded. You can't let him bite you. Or else you'll turn into a werewolf yourself.

"And what happens when you're a werewolf?"

"You turn into a werewolf every month at full moon but you're 100% human after that," Ted said with a frown, "It hurts a lot. Changing every month. My dad's usually really tired after it…."

Ted trailed off, staring awkwardly at his hands in his lap.

"Is he tame?" Richard asked and Ted nodded, "He took Wolfsbane which lets him keep his mind after transforming."

"So he'll turn back after the moon's set huh?" Tot said, reappearing in the door with a large first aid kit and a box.

"Pylon!" Tot suddenly roared, "Get your ass down here!"

"Dad!" Richard hissed as Ted jumped in his seat and the werewolf unconsciously winced.

"You know him Richard. If you don't yell nothing gets through that thick skull of his. I don't know why you agreed to marry him Helena," Tot mumbled and Helena gave a wicked grin as if she knew something he didn't.

"How come we've never seen one of these around before?" Tot asked and Ted shrugged. "The Ministry's good at keeping things under wraps. My dad says that Muggles _have_ seen us. That's where the legends about dragons and werewolves and vampires started."

"Muggles?"

"People without magic."

"Are you a Muggle?"

"I'm a wizard," Ted said a bit proudly.

"Hmm," Tot said as he took out a series of machines out of the box. For a bunch of Muggles Ted thought this family was taking everything rather well.

"I can prove it," Ted insisted and all eyes turned to him with a questioning look, "I can't do magic outside school but I can do this."

And, screwing up his eyes a bit Ted changed his hair color from bright blue to shocking orange.

There was a stunned silence for the briefest of seconds before Richard burst out laughing.

"I was wondering what was up with that hair!" he said heartedly as he slapped Teddy on the back.

"Most intriguing," Tot mumbled as he loaded up a syringe.

"What're you doing?" Ted asked nervously. He never liked the looks of needles.

"Morphine," It'll help the pain. Tot replied as he injected it into the werewolf's bloodstream. Ted looked away.

"We need to operate but the stitches won't hold if he's going to revert back. Is a werewolf's anatomy similar to a humans?"

Ted shrugged helplessly.

"PYLON!" Tot shouted over his shoulder, impatient and annoyed that his son had not managed to come downstairs yet.

"Hrmmm?" Ted turned to find the man formerly in the fedora standing once more by the door clutching a few sheets of paper. This time he no longer had his fedora. His eyes were green and they shone out amongst the black hair. Did he dye it? No one else in the family had black hair.

Other than that his facial structure was almost identical to Richards if not a bit narrower. Teddy guessed that he could be no older than Harry.

"Make yourself useful and get these things from the hospital," Tot said, handing his son a piece of paper which he took.

He then held out his own handful of paper.

"Might want this," he muttered and Tot took it with a raised eyebrow.

There was a brief pause as the old doctor flipped through the pages before handing them over to Ted with an odd look on his face.

"Do these look about right?" he asked and Ted stared at the sheets in his hands, shocked. There were pages and pages of werewolf anatomy diagrams. One stood out the most amongst the others. It was a werewolf drawn in similar fashion to Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. It looked almost exactly like a picture he'd seen in one of the Third Years Defense text books.

"Yeah. It looks like it was straight out of one of our textbooks," Teddy exclaimed before passing the pages back.

"Where did you get all this?" Tot asked, rounding on his son.

"Hrmm. Good question," his son replied vaguely before stuffing the list his father had given him in his pants pocket and walking out of the room.

He paused a bit at the doorway, looking over his shoulder to Ted.

"I'm coming too," Helena said, getting up from her position on the couch. "Come on Ted."

Teddy found himself pulled out of the living room. He started to protest but a quick glance over his shoulder told him it would be for the best. He was squeamish around blood and no doubt his presence would only distract the doctors.

He watched as the anonymous man picked up his fedora from a nearby rack and walk out the door.

"Where're we going?" Ted asked as he quickly put on his shoes.

"To get supplies. We'll need more than just the stuff we can find around the house," Helena replied as she led Ted back to the car.

The pylon opened the door to the backseat and all three stared at the mess of blood that covered the upholstery.

"The truck," the man muttered, slamming the door shut as Helena took Ted's hand and dragged him away from the sight.

They all piled into an old beat up pickup truck with Ted squished between the two adults.

As the engine roared to life Helena turned to the boy, "So. What school do you go to?"

"uhh. Hogwarts School or Witchcraft and Wizardry," Ted mumbled, once again fidgeting nervously.

"Hmm. Can't say I've heard of that one," Helena said with a grin and Teddy smiled back.

"What do you do?" Ted asked, changing the focus of the conversation.

"I'm a teacher."

Teddy perked up, "My dad's a teacher too."

Helena looked surprised, "Really? Well then we'd better swap notes one day."

Ted nodded feeling strangely pleased with himself.

"You like your dad?" Helena continued and Teddy nodded.

"Of course. He's my dad!" he exclaimed only for Helena to snicker quietly in her hand.

"Well. That makes one of us," she muttered and Teddy looked at her in confusion, "You don't like your dad?"

"My dad died a long time ago Ted," she replied with a faint smile and Ted immediately sobered.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Helena went on, waving a dismissive hand.

"What about you?" Ted asked, directing the question to the silent man at the wheel beside him.

Teddy was close enough to see the man give him a sidelong glance from underneath the fedora before focusing his attention back to the road.

"Wanted me to be a doctor," the man said simply and Ted could feel the annoyance conveyed through the simple message.

"Don't mind him. Q's a bit….anti-social," Helena said and Ted looked at Helena, "So _that's_ what I'm supposed to call him?" he asked and Helena burst out laughing.

"Yeah. You can call him Q. He goes by other names too…..Pylon is one of them," she added as an afterthought.

Ted looked at Q just in time to catch him roll his eyes at his wife.

"So you two are married?"

"Yup. Been married for what? Four years now?"

Q nodded his head in the affirmative and Helena reached over to give her husband a peck on the cheek.

Ted frowned thoughtfully. What on earth did Helena see in Q? What kind of name was 'Q'? It was probably short for something 'Quentin'? 'Quincy'? There weren't that many English names that started with Q really…..

"So…." Ted jumped, really not expecting Q to be the one starting the next conversation.

"Care to explain how you managed to be found with a bleeding werewolf on the side of the road?"

Teddy blushed, "Well. Umm. It's a long story," he replied but he figured he had a while and he launched into a summary of what had happened starting from Harry's party to when Ted's house had been invaded by strangers.

The Rodors listened quietly, not interrupting until Ted mentioned the part about the intruder's necklace.

"-And it was this weird looking tooth with a cross on the side. I tried to bend down to pick it up but-"

"Wait," Q suddenly said and Ted jumped again.

"The cross. Was there any words written on the cross?"

Ted raised an eyebrow before pausing to think back.

"I can't remember. Maybe….Yeah. I think there was something but I didn't get a really good look it. Why?" Ted asked, confused but the man in the fedora said nothing as they drove on.

Teddy continued his story regardless and had just reached the end of it when the beat up pickup truck finally rolled up into a Muggle hospital and parked right in front of it.

"Sounds like you've had quite the night," Helena exclaimed as they got out.

Q led the way through the large doors of the hospital and Ted looked around amazed at the stark white walls.

It wasn't a very large hospital and it paled when compared to Ted's favourite movies but out here in the country it would do.

"Ever been to a hospital before?" Helena asked and Ted shook his head a bit in wonder, "Not a Muggle one," he whispered.

Q led the way up a flight of stairs and through a maze of corridors that all looked the same in Ted's opinion.

Eventually they reached a room and Q took out a key and unlocked it.

"Are we allowed to do that?" Teddy asked a bit hesitantly, watching as doctors and nurses bustled about and gave the trio awkward glances.

"Of course," Q muttered, opening the door, "We own the place."

Ted starred in shock at the man's retreating back before Helena placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and led him inside.

"Need help?" Helena asked but her husband shook his head.

"Just need help carrying it all," he replied before opening a safe and taking out clear bags of various liquids.

_"It's blood,"_ Ted realized. There was other stuff too, antibiotics he assumed but he looked away regardless.

Helena on the other hand raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know he's AB blood?"

"Doesn't matter. All blood in a werewolf gets infected with the disease regardless of blood type," Q muttered.

Ted looked on, confused. How on earth did the man know _that_?

"Here," Q said, handing Ted a large box.

Ted held on to it as Q then loaded up Helena's arms before doing a quick sweep of the list his father had given him.

"Good let's go," Q said, stuffing the list in his pocket before bending to lift another large stack of boxes.

Teddy followed the rather awkward procession down the stairs ignoring the glances by doctors and patients as they went.

Eventually they had loaded up the truck with the supplies and re-entered the vehicle.

"Are you a witch?" Ted asked suddenly as soon as the engine was roaring. He wasn't sure what made him blurt out such a question. It was probably the fact that the family had been so accepting of the werewolf and the wizard and the magical world or it might have been Q's knowledge of some magical elements that not even Ted knew about.

At the question Helena burst out laughing.

"I can assure you Ted I don't have a magical bone in my body," she said with a grin and Ted looked away embarrassed.

"Then. How did you get those pictures from earlier? And how come you know what happens to werewolf blood and what not?" Ted asked, pointing an accusing finger at the man driving.

The man in question turned his head slightly to look at Ted.

The car was silent for a long moment and for a second Teddy didn't think the man was going to reply.

When it finally did Ted should have known not to expect much.

"It's the 21st century. You'd be surprised what Muggles know," Q said before turning his attention back to the road.

Ted growled a bit in frustration.

There were still too many questions. Who were the men who had knocked on his door? What did they want with him? Who was this man he was sitting beside and how did he know so much about werewolves? Were they all Muggles? Wizards? Something else entirely? It made Ted's head spin.

"So. Tell me more about your world," Helena pressed as a last ditch effort to change the topic.

Ted looked at her.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well. How was your summer?" Helena asked and Ted grinned.

"Is that what you always say when your students come back from holidays?" he joked and Helena smiled at him.

By the time Ted was done telling Helena almost everything he knew about the magical world they were already backing up into the Rodor's garage.

"Ted why don't you go inside? We'll be with your in a minute," Helena said as the adults made to leave the car.

Ted stayed behind for a moment, watching as they unloaded the truck.

Q's words suddenly resonated through his head.

_"You'd be surprised what Muggles know."_

Ted frowned. He didn't remember telling Q about Muggles. He'd only explained them in the living room when the man had been upstairs.

"Too many questions," Teddy muttered as he undid his seatbelt and stepped out of the truck.

Entering the house and Ted found the living room doors closed. He tried the handle but it was locked and Myra's voice rang out from inside.

"Don't come in yet Ted." she shouted.

The door opened and Q walked back out of the room shutting the door firmly behind him before Ted could even peek past his legs.

He gave Ted the briefest of glances before slowly making his trek up the stairs and out of sight.

Teddy sighed, leaning against the nearby wall. He could wait.

Unfortunately his wait wasn't very long for Tot's voice soon drifted out from behind the locked door, "Go upstairs with the pylon," he instructed and Ted, not feeling in the mood to argue, straightened up and went upstairs.

Q's room wasn't very hard to find. It was the only one open and Ted could hear Helena's voice drifting out of it.

Not wanting to disturb he settled himself against the wall beside the doorframe and listened.

"I think you should tell them," Helena was saying and Q mumbled a response that was much too quiet for Ted to hear.

"I bet you he already knows. How long do you think you can keep this up?"

"I can keep it up as long as I want Helena. Why's this bothering you now?"

"Because he thinks you're useless and he's going around advertising the fact to random people he's barely even met!" Helena hissed.

"So what?"

"Well if you'd just tell him the truth maybe he'd start thinking higher of you."

"But he's right. I am useless."

"You've got one of the most important jobs in all of Britain!" Helena exclaimed and Ted's curiosity meter shot up tenfold.

"I'd hardly call it the most important," Q mumbled.

"Well I do. You work days and nights. You never sleep. If you're working on a case you forget everything and your father keeps calling you a pylon! I'm sick of it! When are you going to start arguing for your self worth?"

"Not any time soon. Especially not with you arguing for me," Q replied casually.

There was the sound of a sigh followed by fabric shifting.

"I wish you'd give yourself some credit for once," Helena mumbled and Ted heard Q sigh through what sounded like his nose.

"It won't make a difference. I won't be a doctor. I won't make a name for myself or the family and that's all he cares about."

"But what do _you_ care about?"

"You."

_"Good answer," _Ted thought to himself before he hurried down the stairs once more.

_"He reminds me of Dad."_

When he'd reached the middle of the steps he stomped noisily back up.

"Helena?" He called before he had even reached the room.

Helena appeared in almost the blink of an eye. "What's up Ted?"

"Dr. Rodor wants me to stay upstairs with you guys," Teddy replied and Helena smiled.

"Well then come on in."

Ted entered the small bedroom. A desk was pushed up against the opposite wall by the window. A small closet was pushed in the corner and one of its doors looked broken. The rest of the room was taken up by a large king sized bed on which Q sat crossed legged typing furiously on a laptop.

"Think you should call your mom?" Helena asked, patting the bed inviting Teddy to take a seat.

"We don't have a phone," Ted mumbled and Helena frowned.

"Email? You said your friends had it right?"

Ted nodded and Helena snatched the laptop out of Q's hands and gave it to Ted.

"Need help?"

Ted shook his head.

Quickly logging in to his email he then proceeded to painstakingly type out a massive story of everything that had happened since his last message. He ended it with the Rodors' address and a request that someone tell his mom where they were.

_"She's probably back from Harry's and worried sick by now,"_ Ted thought to himself.

He shut the laptop with a click and turned to find Helena asleep on the bed, curled up next to her husband who was staring blankly up at the spotted ceiling.

Upon noticing Ted's gaze Q looked over.

"Done?" he asked and Ted nodded passing the laptop back.

"Should sleep," the man informed but Ted shook his head stubbornly.

"I want to see my dad first."

The man stayed silent and Ted absently swung his legs on the bed.

"Does your brother have a family?" he asked awkwardly but he turned to find Q's gaze fixed on the ceiling.

With a sigh Ted fiddled with a loose thread on his shirt. This guy was more anti-social than Roy for crying out loud.

"Wife. Daughter. In America….Vacation," Q finally muttered and Ted turned back around to the man.

"Are you on vacation too?"

"Hrmmm."

Ted couldn't really tell if that was a reply in the positive or negative. Helena must be on vacation if she was a school teacher. Maybe they lived in the city and had come over to escape the noise for a few months? Or maybe they still lived here and that was why Dr. Rodor said his son was useless….

Too many questions. Ted gave up.

"Want to see your father?" Q suddenly asked and Ted nodded.

With a grunt the man got off the bed, gave his sleeping wife a peck on the cheek and left the room.

A few seconds later Ted followed him.

They marched downstairs and Q fiddled with the door a bit before wrenching it open.

Ted looked past the man just in time to see the occupants in the room jump at the sudden entrance.

"Jeez. Can't you knock?" Richard asked his brother but Q pushed Ted inside without a word.

"Is my dad OK?" he asked fearfully.

Tot came away from the table revealing a giant werewolf lying on its side.

Ted noticed that the wolf's stomach had been shaved and he would have laughed at the sight of the naked belly had it not been for the bandages wrapped around its torso.

A muzzle had been placed on the werewolf's mouth, probably to prevent it from biting and Ted for once let it go. Instead he focused on the various tubes and wires all along his father's body.

A large tube had been shoved in Remus' mouth, attached to a clear bag which was in turn attached to an oxygen tank.

Wires poked out of bandages along Remus' arms and legs and Ted watch clear and red liquid alike fall from IV racks down tubes and disappearing into his father's bloodstream.

"He's stable for now," Myra said with a kind hand on Ted's shoulder.

"What about when he changes back?" Ted asked and the doctors frowned.

"We can't really say. We've never exactly done this before," Richard said, "And I think a part of me is still in denial that all this can happen."

Ted sighed. There wasn't really much he could do. He lay a hand on his father's head for a few seconds, ruffling the fur and watching him just breathe before turning.

"Can I stay here for tonight?" he asked and Tot nodded.

"Sure Ted. I'll be back down in a few hours when the moon goes down alright?"

Ted nodded in return before letting him fall onto the couch across the room.

As the adults filled out one by one he watched his father's chest rise up and down as blood, drugs and antibiotics dripped slowly from the racks above. He was hooked up to a machine. One of those heart things that beeped now and then and had lines running through it.

Ted didn't really remember what it was called but he knew that if the line was ever straight that meant the heart was no longer beating.

He stared at the machine for a long time, counting the seconds between the beeps and tracking the fluctuating lines with his eyes.

Someone re-entered the room and Ted looked up.

Q handed him a pillow and a blanket and Ted silently thanked him with a nod.

"Need anything I'll be outside," the man muttered.

"Don't you have to sleep too?" Ted asked as Q rose to leave.

"Insomniac."

"Oh," Ted said, feeling embarrassed, "I'm sorry."

"Don't."

"Wait!" Ted called as Q was just about to walk away.

"I- uhh. Thank you. For you know….saving us and all?" Ted said carefully as Q paused in his attempt to leave.

"You overheard us. When Helena was complaining."

It wasn't a question it was a fact. Q knew and Ted looked down ashamedly at his feet.

"…yeah…" he mumbled.

The man made a noise I the back of his throat before turning.

"Wait. I'm sorry. I was told to come up and your door was open and she was talking and…."

Ted tried to think of a good explanation but the words died when the man shushed him.

"Doesn't matter. Just don't say anything," he said and Ted nodded a bit fearfully.

"But what _do _you do? For a job I mean. How do you know so much about people like me?"

Ted was rewarded with the faintest of smirks from the otherwise emotionless man.

"Good question," he mumbled as he closed the living room door behind him leaving Ted once again confused and in the dark.

With a sigh Ted got himself comfortable on the couch, throwing the blanket over himself.

He felt a bit tired but vowed to stay awake at least until his Dad woke up.

"Too many questions," Ted muttered angrily to himself.

_"Q knows something. He's hiding it from me and the rest of his family. Maybe I should ask Helena in the morning and then I have to find Vic and Roy and hunt down those men who showed up at my house….wonder if I can get Q to help with that. He seems to know a lot…."_

Teddy's thoughts drifted off and he gave a yawn. The day's events were starting to have their effect on him and Ted soon fell asleep to the beep of a heart monitor and the breathing of a werewolf.

* * *

Confused yet? Some things will be explained next chapter...others like who the men who barged into the Lupin house? Well that's the whole mystery this story is based on so you guys won't be knowing that for a while :P

And a pylon is a name teachers use at my school (mostly in the IT/computer departments) to describe someone who just sits in class and doesn't to anything.

Thanks to all the loyal reviewers so far. New reviews appreciated as always.


	6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

"Well. _That_ was surely interesting."

_"Voices?"_

"What do you mean interesting? It was damn right freaky! Hearts aren't supposed to beat that fast!"

_"Hurts. Can't breathe."_

"Well the boy did say transforming was physically taxing."

_"Pain."_

"We're lucky the stitches held."

_"It's warm…"_

"Wonder if the fur grows back next month."

_"Something's beeping…"_

"It's amazing. You would have never guessed a man can turn into a giant wolf every month."

_"They're talking about me…."_

"He looks like the boy."

_"I'm alive."_

It was this simple fact out of all the other disjoined thoughts that finally forced Remus out from the thick veil of unconsciousness. He stirred a bit before opening his eyes, wincing as lights blinded him and his brows furrowed ever so slightly.

"He's awake."

A woman's voice.

"Hmm. Won't be for long," someone muttered.

The first thing Remus noticed was the muzzle wrapped firmly around his face. There was a tube stuffed down his throat. Wires were sticking out of his body and it was around there that panic kicked in.

The heart monitor went haywire.

Remus couldn't breathe.

Someone quickly placed a firm hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving.

"Hey. Relax or you're going to tear your stitches."

_"Stiches?"_

Someone came into his line of vision. Remus blinked several times to clear the morphine from his system. It was an older man with glasses.

"Sorry. Guess you're not used to our medicine."

In a few motions Remus found the muzzle taken off from his face and the tube in his mouth was removed. Almost instantly he gagged, realizing that there wasn't enough oxygen passing through his lungs.

"Easy now," Tot said, placing an oxygen mask on Remus instead.

"We couldn't get it to fit over your…umm…snout."

Someone snorted but Remus couldn't really figure out who it was. His vision was hazy and he had to blink several times just to focus on the man before him.

"Mhhrmm," Remus tried talking but he was too tired and the mask was restricting his mouth anyways.

He felt his head held firmly between two hands and Remus moved his eyes to once more focus on the man before him.

"Don't talk. Can you stay with us for a sec?" the doctor asked and Remus blinked quickly before managing a weak nod.

"OK good. You've been shot. Twice. One went in the shoulder. We haven't touched that yet because we thought we'd better wait for you to turn back. The other one clipped your lung and let me tell you that was a pain to sort out."

Remus listened on, a bit confused but rather soothed by the other man's un-professional tone.

It helped him relax.

"Now. You're going to need the mask for a while. I know it's uncomfortable but just bear with it. We still have to fix up your shoulder and we don't know what internal injuries happened during that transformation stage so it'd be best if we could put you to sleep again."

_"Put me to sleep?"_

Remus' brows furrowed once more. Only half of the usual response had he been fully awake and aware of the world circling around him. Right now he only felt numb. Waves of pain would wash over him whenever he breathed but it was weird.

He couldn't really feel his arms….or the rest of his body for that matter.

_"So this is what Muggle drugs do…."_

"I'm going to inject you with some sedative OK? You'll be out for a few hours." Tot continued and Remus' attention was once more re-directed.

He eyed the tip of the needle warily.

Snippets of last night floated around in his dazed head. There'd been guns. And a man and then he'd been shot. Another gunshot and Ted's reassuring voice that things would be OK. Voices. He remembered voices. They hadn't been talking to him but he remembered being carried….

These men were trying to help. They were Muggles but they meant well and Remus couldn't even move his arms yet alone call someone to take him to St. Mungos. Right now he couldn't even think of a way to do that anyways.

Slowly he nodded his consent and he watched a bit oddly as the doctor slipped the tip of the needle past his skin, injected the fluid and slowly pulled it out.

A woman's hand dabbed the little trickle of blood that resulted when the needle was removed.

Remus wished he had the sense to move his other arm and rub the goose bumps that had erupted on his skin away.

As the drugs coursed through his system Remus felt his eyesight blur even further.

"Why," he managed to mumble, "Why…doing this?"

"Well why not?" Came the reply, "I may be a bit old but I can handle a few operations…although I must say yours has been the most peculiar one I've had in all my fifty years as a doctor."

"But….I'm…"

Remus took a few deep breaths as he struggled against the sedative coursing through his body.

"Mmm…Not human," he managed as the world around him slowly dissolved into a blurry mass of shapes and color.

"Oh really? Try telling your son that," came the casual reply and Remus snapped awake with a start.

Or at least he tried to.

"Ted," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

He turned his head a bit to the side and found his son curled up asleep on the sofa across the room. Blue haired head nestled softly in a big fluffy pillow.

"He's tired but he's perfectly fine otherwise," the doctor said.

Remus practically drank in the image of his son. Still alive and unharmed after everything that had happened last night and he gave a soft sigh of relief before he closed his eyes and let the pull of the drugs overtake him.

* * *

"Where's my family? If you've so much as touched a hair on their head I'll curse you into oblivion!"

Ted woke up groggily at the sound of furious footsteps pounding down the hall.

The door was flown open before he even had a clue what was going on.

Instinctively Ted buried his head underneath the blankets a bit to ward off the noise.

"Shh. You'll wake the whole neighborhood up," a voice whispered. It was deep yet…familiar…

The room was silent enough for a moment that Ted had almost drifted back to sleep.

Muttering and whispers filled the room but Ted was tired and he didn't really feel like opening his eyes to figure out what was going on.

He only managed to wake up when a delicate kiss was placed on his forehead and a voice whispered.

"Thank Merlin you're alright."

"Mum?" he mumbled a bit groggily, getting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, yawning.

Tonks didn't say anything. Instead she reached over and gave Teddy the biggest hug of his life.

A bit surprised Ted wormed his face in his mother's shoulder, breathing in her scent and letting a feeling of safety and comfort wash over him.

"Mm alright," he mumbled before he looked up to the other men in the room.

Harry was standing by the door while Kinglsey Shacklebolt stood by Remus watching the heart monitor with the faintest of frowns.

So that was the voice from earlier. Ted knew it sounded familiar.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

Everyone turned back to face him.

"Well let's just say when your mom went home she went utterly ballistic," Harry mumbled softly and Ted held onto his mom just a bit tighter.

"We got the rest of the Aurors in. We tried to see if there was a connection between my house's break in and yours. Then we got an owl from your friends with the email you sent. You'd be surprised what Muggle Internet can do. They had a picture of this house and everything so it was simple enough to apparate here. They'll be coming soon. Your friends that is," Harry said as an afterthought.

"But why are_ you_ here?" Ted asked, pointing to the Minister of Magic.

Kinglsey frowned, "My two best Aurors have been robbed; their houses ransacked. One of my best friends and his son is missing. There have been sightings of a werewolf not too far away. Aurors and everyone are working overtime. I figured I should pitch in and offer some help," he replied with a frown.

"We've sent everyone from the Order a notice to be cautious but we still don't know what these men are looking for. They might not even be after the Order," Harry continued, also with a frown.

"How's Ginny and the kids?"

"They're staying at the Burrow. At least until tomorrow."

Teddy nodded before realizing that his mother hadn't said anything in a really long time.

"Mum? Are you OK?" he asked softly and Tonks looked up to face Ted head on.

Teddy didn't like seeing his mother cry.

"I thought I'd lost you," Tonks said, moving out of Ted's embrace and reaching to wipe the tears from her face.

"I'm OK mum," he repeated reassuringly.

"And the guys who saved us. They're doctors. They said dad's going to be OK too," Teddy continued firmly and Tonks gave a weak smile.

"This isn't a suitable arrangement for him," Shacklebolt said with a frown, once more staring at the tubing and the wires attached to Remus' prone body. Ted watched the oxygen mask fogging up every time his father breathed before clearing quickly.

His chest, now covered in bandages, rose up and down rhythmically in time to the small hiss of the machine.

Around his right ring finger a grey plastic clip had been placed, leading to the heart monitor where the soothing, constant sound of his father's heartbeat could be heard throughout the room.

Two separate needles were taped on Remus' right forearm as well. They both led to separate fluid bags. One of them was a clear, water-like substance, tinted just the slightest sheen of green. Antibiotics most likely. The other held fluid of a slightly morbid variety. It was deep red in color and Ted looked away awkwardly at the sight of it. Someone else's _blood _was running through his dad's veins….

"Are you going to take him to Mungo's?" Ted asked at last and all three adults frowned.

"I don't think it'd be good to move him yet…." Teddy said a bit nervously when no one spoke.

"I agree…" Shacklebolt said before looking over at Tonks.

Tonks sighed, looking despairingly at the sight of her husband still lying on a blanket on the Muggle operation table. A thick blanket covered his body from the middle of his chest down and his head rested in a cushioned pillow. She looked at the machines and the wires and the tubes with a frown. She then took in the blood and the needles resting on the nearby table. Ted had a feeling that his mother wanted nothing more than to rip all the wires and foreign materials out of her husband and take him home with her.

But she couldn't do that….

"What's the diagnosis?" she asked at last, turning to the door.

Ted looked confused at first before the door opened slowly, revealing Q leaning casually against the doorframe, hands stuffed in deep pockets.

"Shot. Twice. Hit his shoulder. Clipped his lung. Operated on him when he changed back. Finished less than two hours ago. Machine might be the only thing keeping him breathing for now. Will move him when he's more stable."

Q said this so bluntly that Ted fully expected his mother to rage at him.

Instead, to his surprise she merely sighed in defeat.

"Can he stay?" she asked, and Q gave a single nod.

"Can they both stay?"

Another nod.

Ted looked up at his mum with confusion in his eyes.

"Mum?" he asked.

Tonks closed her eyes as if willing herself to gain composure. Then she sighed and kneeled down in front of Ted.

"You stay here and look after your father OK? We're going to get to the bottom of this. When we're done sorting things out I'll come back for you."

"Promise?" Ted asked and his mother gave a determined nod.

Ted nodded back in return. He would stay. He didn't want to leave his father alone and the same could be said about him. He didn't want to go back home where it was no longer safe and if he went with his mother he would only get in the way.

"Vic and Roy should be here in the next few hours. They've agreed to take you to the Fair with them. It might be safer if you're away from here for a while. If you need anything just write or send me an email alright? I'll have that thing all figured out in a few days."

Ted nodded again with a small smile.

"Such a good boy," Tonks breathed, reaching and giving Teddy another hug.

Ted hugged her back and reached to give his mother a kiss on the cheek.

"Now go back to sleep. It's still much too early for you to be up," Tonks said getting up and giving her son a kiss before moving over to Remus.

"And you. Don't you dare go dying on me Remus Lupin," she hissed before reaching down and giving her husband a kiss as well.

Remus continued to lie there unmoving but Tonks didn't seem to notice as she strode out of the room with one more goodbye to her son.

Harry and Kingsley said their own farewells before they too left the room and Harry closed the door behind them.

Ted sat there, watching his father breathe in and out for a moment before he jumped into action, running up to the closed door and pressing his ear against it.

"Sorry for the uhh cursing into oblivion thing," Ted heard Tonks mumble.

"Understandable," was Q's simple response.

"So they can really stay? They won't get in the way?"

"Can stay. On vacation so nothing to get in the way of."

"Thank you-"

"But…."

"Oh for the love of Merlin you Muggles are all the same," Tonks muttered.

"No obliviators," Q's voice was firm and Ted could image his piercing green eyes narrow only slightly as he said this.

"How'd you know about the obliviators?" Harry's voice was bordering on suspicious.

A rustle of fabric. Ted figured Q had given a shrug of some sort.

"I do my homework."

Another thing that Q knew that he shouldn't.

The voices were getting further away and Ted frowned before risking a chance at opening the living room door.

Thankfully there was a mirror across the hall and he could just make out the group of adults by the front door by its reflection.

"What's your name?" That was Kinglsey's voice.

Q tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Don't have one."

"What do you mean you don't have one? There has to be something people call you," Harry replied, even more suspicious.

"Go by 'Q'" The later announced, reaching for his fedora on the hook by the front door.

"Q? As in the letter? For what? Quincy? Quentin?"

"Quartermaster."

There was a small smirk on Q's face as he said this before he placed the fedora on his head and walked out the door.

While the Aurors gave each other confused glances Ted's eyes had widened and he took several steps back before tripping over his own feet and falling to the floor.

_"Bloody hell. You've got to be kidding me!"_

"Let's get going. I'll send a note to the Obliviators."

"You're not actually going to believe him are you?" Harry asked and Kingsley shrugged.

"They helped one of us in our time of need. The least we can do is let them keep their memory of it."

"So. What's a Quartermaster?" Tonks asked, eyeing the open doorway suspiciously.

"You don't want to know," Kingsley muttered before he gave a nod to the two Aurors and dissaparated with a soft pop.

Harry and Tonks looked at each other before Harry gave a sigh.

"What a birthday huh?"

Tonks gave him a soft smile before they too disappeared from the doorway leaving Ted alone with his thoughts.

He didn't stay thinking for long though.

As soon as his mum and godfather were gone he rushed through the door, pulled on his shoes and ran out to the porch.

Q was outside in his car with all its doors open, no doubt trying to scrape away the werewolf blood that was contaminating his back seats.

Ted figured it was just past 5 in the morning and the early summer sun was just peeking though the horizon.

Leaping down the small flights of stairs, Ted ran over to the man and glared at him.

"You work for the Secret Service," it wasn't a question. Ted knew and his tone was accusing and meant to be.

Q looked up from his position hunched over a bucket of soapy water to the blue haired boy frowning down at him.

"Yes," he replied, before turning his attention back to the water.

Teddy felt oddly pleased that the man hadn't denied it or outright avoided the question but he switched back to frowning at the man who had moved to scrub away at his car.

"So that's how you about magic and Muggles and werewolves and all that stuff?" Ted asked and Q gave a silent nod.

It felt oddly surreal. Ted loved movies. He'd seen almost all the Bond movies and they'd always showed Q as the inventor; the innovative thinker that always supplied Bond with his gadgets. He was supposed to be old, wise yet witty and head of the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service.

This Q was different. So different. This Q was anti-social, said as few words as possible and didn't even seem to take pride in his work. This Q was all wrong.

_"James Bond isn't real Ted,"_ he reminded himself. All stories were based on some sort of truth. Ted just had to figure out what.

"So…head of research and development?"

"Mrmm."

Ted took that as a yes.

"MI5?"

"MI6."

"I thought that was for foreign intelligence."

"Wizard communities of Europe are all the same. We work under the Joint Intelligence Committee. Everyone has the same information one way or another."

Q went back to the bucket to rinse out his towel.

Ted frowned again and moved over to lean against the side of the car.

"How'd you guys find out?"

"Didn't."

Ted looked confused for the briefest of moments before he said the only logical explanation.

"You were told."

Q remained silent and for a second Ted thought he'd asked too much.

So he waited. Q would tell him eventually. He'd noticed that when asked a direct question he would always answer it eventually whether it be in riddles of the straight out truth.

"Your minister has been contacting my minister since the 1920s. Maybe before that," the man started and Teddy nodded. He knew the Muggle Prime Minister and the Minister of Magic had to be in good standing with the other to help keep magic a secret to other Muggles.

"Ministers don't do anything. They tell others what to do. Your Minister tells my minister to cover up for some magic. My minister nods and leaves it at that. He doesn't do anything."

Q finally turned to look at Ted.

"We do," he said with a shrug.

"Went from there. Think we don't notice that resources are used up at a rate that shouldn't be possible for our recorded population? When a Muggle born gets their acceptance letter at eleven years they're pulled out of school and disappear. Communities live in areas that should be uninhabited. Areas of land can't be built on. People are making money without getting jobs. Children are being educated without going to school. Parents are listed as educators but _they _didn't go to school. Buildings are built with no purpose and haven't been shut down. Reports of strange sightings and magical creatures come in every day. It's the 21st century. Can't just ignore it anymore. Threatens national security."

Ted stared at the man. Never had he realized that the Wizarding community wasn't as secret as it was meant to be. He never thought what the government might know of their existence. Sure he knew the Prime Minister had connections but he never realized the rest of the government did as well. It was odd, thinking of how obvious it must be to enter their society.

"So. You think we're a threat?" Ted asked.

"Magic is only believed as a myth because we Muggles make it so. Without our protection your community would shut down and that threatens our nation's economy. Two lifestyles clash. Can escalate to civil war."

"We can take care of ourselves! We don't need Muggles. We've got magic!" Teddy argued.

Q sighed, chucking his cloth in the bucket before turning to face Ted straight on.

"No. Can't. Wizards don't change. They don't evolve."

"Yes we do!" Ted protested but Q continued.

"Your people have been living the same lifestyle for decades. Almost half your populace doesn't even use electricity. More than three quarters don't know how to take trains, buses, airplanes, cars. You write with quills by candlelight. You listen to the radio. You use messenger birds as communication. No one understands science. By now your community has fallen so far behind on technology that it would be almost impossible to catch up. If you don't know how to use a pen do you think you can handle yourselves on your own?"

Ted opened his mouth to retort only to shut it again.

It was true. The Wizarding community _was _behind. He hadn't known what a computer _was_ until he was eleven. They didn't own a phone or a car or even a television. Obliviators were only the tip of the iceberg. They wouldn't be able to catch everyone. Especially now that information could travel so fast across the globe. Wizard society wouldn't survive if it wasn't for governmental protection forcing others to turn a blind eye. It was all strangely justified and Ted felt like the world he had known wasn't as perfect as he had thought it to be.

"So the whole government knows?"

Q tilted his head to look at the boy.

"Only select few. Others possibly yes. Possibly no."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Q sighed again, "Everyone is related to a witch or wizard to some extent. Older families are more likely to be aware. Probability of a magical child is higher. Others believe but do not know. Can't always be certain."

Ted frowned again. This was complicated.

"So. Those guys that broke into my house. They weren't working for you?"

A snort was torn from the other man; half strangled as if it wasn't a normal sound.

Both of them looked surprised for the briefest of seconds before Q shook his head.

"Ends don't justify the means. Can get information on you without breaking and entering."

"But do you know who did it?"

"Hrmm. Ideas yes. But no link. No motive. Countless possibilities. Can't be certain."

Ted sighed in defeat. There wasn't a point in going further.

Need help?" he asked, changing the subject and walking over to the bucket and looking down at the soapy water tinged red.

"Hrmm. Should be sleeping."

Ted sighed again, "Fine fine. I'm going. Thanks by the way."

Q titled his head to the side and Ted could only assume it was in confusion.

With a grin he explained.

"I've never heard you talk so much in one go."

"Hrmm," was the only answer he received but as Ted left to go back inside the house he didn't feel this mystery man was so bad after all.

* * *

You guys knew that the James Bond references in the previous chapters had to be for something right? :P Also, I have no clue how the secret service works. I don't know if there's a 'Q' in real life. Nor do I know if he's head of research and development (is there even a branch called that?). Anyways I just made a whole bunch of that stuff up lol.

I just realized this is gonna be a long story. The school year hasn't even started yet o.o

And yes. I'm gonna fail my exams. But that's OK.

Reviews appreciated!


	7. Missing

Ted awoke later that day to someone shaking him.

"What it is?" he mumbled groggily only to find Q standing over him with a plate of food.

"Dinner. Friend is here," the man said, shoving the plate in Ted's hands before leaving the room.

"Can't we leave you alone for one day without the world falling to pieces?"

Ted's face broke into a grin as the voice of his best friend resonated throughout the room.

He looked towards the door to find none other than Victor Sage standing there with his arms crossed and glaring mockingly at Ted.

"How'd you get here?" Ted asked, patting the sofa to invite his friend to sit down.

"Ugh. Flew to the closest wizard community. Used the Floo to the train station. Took the train. Flooed from the London stop to your house. Aurors were still there. Huge mess to sort out. Flew around until I came here a few minutes ago," Vic said pausing to take a dramatic breath of air. "Oh and Roy stayed behind to look after some things," he added as an afterthough

Ted nodded before further communication was interrupted by Dr. Rodor walking into the room.

"My another one. We're going to need more rooms," the doctor exclaimed and Vic was quick to get up and offer him a polite bow.

"Sorry sir. I'm just here to pick Ted up. We can leave in a few minutes."

"Nonsense. It's almost dark out," the doctor exclaimed much to Vic's confusion, "And haven't you boys thought about packing? Teddy dear boy you've been in those clothes for two days!"

Vic and Ted exchanged looks.

"We can uhh go back to my house and fetch some supplies I guess," Ted said a bit nervously. He didn't like the idea of going back home but if Vic was with him he felt safer. Besides, the doctor was right, he couldn't spend the rest of his summer in the clothes he was wearing now….

"I'll get my son to drive you," the doctor said with a nod and Teddy instantly felt better. If Q was going with them he was sure everything would be fine. The man was a bit socially awkward but Ted felt that he had good intentions.

"PYLON! Where are you?"

Ted flinched ever so slightly at the doctor's shout but he sat down none the less as Vic watched the doctor leave the room with a quizzical expression on his face.

"Don't ask. I'll explain some other time," Ted said with a sigh and Vic gave a shrug before plopping down on the sofa once more.

"Your dad looks like shit," Vic muttered after a while and Ted nodded, picking at sandwich on his plate absentmindedly.

"Has he woken up?"

"He woke up this morning when he changed back," Ted replied as Dr. Rodor re-entered the room with another plate of food.

"I don't know where in bloody hell that boy ran off to," he muttered.

"He was here just a minute ago," Ted told him with a curious expression and Rodor sighed.

"Yes well. He has a knack for disappearing at random. Might be for a few minutes. Might be for a few weeks. I remember this one time I hadn't seen him in three months and the next thing I know he's brushing his teeth in the bathroom," Tot shook his head a bit in frustration before handing Vic some food.

"Eat first. If the pylon doesn't show up I'll get Richard to drive you."

Teddy nodded, and Vic shot him a confused look as the doctor once more left the room.

"A pylon's someone who doesn't do anything useful," Ted supplied and Vic's eyebrow went up even higher.

"Why would a father call his own kid that? No. He's not even a kid. That guy has to be 30 at least!"

Ted shrugged, "They don't like each other."

Vic gave a snort, "Yeah I can tell."

Teddy grinned a little, debating whether or not he should tell Vic about Q but he eventually decided against it. If it needed to be brought up Ted would ask the other man first he supposed.

"So. How was the Fair?" Ted asked, desperately wishing to change the topic.

"It's awesome Ted! I can't wait to show you. There's performers and tradesmen and animals and-"

Ted grinned as he settled down to his friend's excited rambling. It was good to see that some things never changed.

* * *

Q, much to Ted's unsuspected relief, came back only a few hours later sporting a new trench coat to replace the previous one.

As soon as he stepped through the door his father rounded on him to clean the dishes and drive Ted and Vic over to the Lupin house.

"And when you come back help set up…." The doctor trailed off and gave Ted a curious look.

Ted looked back, confused at what the doctor wanted but Q spoke up.

"Remus. Remus Lupin."

Tot didn't even bat an eye.

"Yes. When you come back help set up Remus in your room. It's not like you use your bed anyways. Helena can sleep with Myra for now."

"Hrmm," was the only reply as Q set out to the kitchen.

Teddy was starting to suspect that the Rodor family "pylon" actually did more than anyone else in the house. He was starting to see why Helena wasn't so fond of the idea. It didn't seem very fair really….

"Sorry you have to drive us," Ted said, poking his head around the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Don't mind."

"You don't mind much do you?" Ted asked but the man before him was silent.

"Come on. Let's give him a hand," Ted said and Vic frowned at first but eventually nodded.

Cleaning duties went smoothly and before long Ted and Vic were squished up in Q's pickup truck (Ted still didn't feel comfortable in the car) and were on their way.

The trip went smoothly and before long the trio was driving up the Lupins' driveway.

"Come on," Ted said, bullying Vic out of the truck and up the steps leading to the house.

"You think they'll still be people inside?" Ted asked, peering into the window only to find that the curtains were shut tight.

"Hmmm," Q replied, reaching for the door and all three of them were fairly surprised when it swung open on the first push.

"That's…not supposed to happen…" Ted muttered nervously.

"It's been a whole day and Aurors have searched the place. I'm sure it's fine Ted," Vic said, pushing the door open further.

"ANYONE HOME?" he shouted and Ted instinctively reached over to clamp a hand over his friend's mouth.

"It's your home Ted. You can shout as much as you like!" Vic protested as he struggled out of Ted's hold.

"Besides. If there were people here I'm sure they would have made themselves known by now," he said before entering the house.

"Yeah or maybe they're waiting to ambush us when we get inside," Ted muttered but he followed his friend inside anyways with Q bringing up the lead.

As the boys made a beeline for Ted's bedroom Q decided to wander off downstairs. Teddy secretly wished he had stayed but said nothing.

Entering his room he quickly turned on the light only to frown when the bulb above him did no more than flicker. They must have cut the power and mum hadn't been home today to fix it. Great.

"Here's your trunk," Vic said, pushing the large case out from underneath the bed, "Hurry up Ted. The faster you get your shit together the faster we can get out of here."

Ted nodded, running over to his dressers and flinging them open. He was pleased to see that whatever magic his mum and the Auror's had worked on here meant that everything that had been upturned by the intruders was back to its original place. It was like the break in hadn't happened at all. Still, whenever he opened up a new drawer Ted made a mental check that everything was where it should be and nothing was missing.

"Hey Vic, do you ever wonder what they wanted?" Ted asked after a moment, looking up from arranging his clothes into his trunk.

"Well your mom said nothing of value was taken. No money, no magical artifacts, no priceless jewelry. She did a full check. Even the laptop's still here," Vic said with a thoughtful frown as he lay on Teddy's bed.

"Just like Harry's place," Ted replied with a curious expression.

He gave the room around him a scrutinizing look. Nothing seemed out of place. His mother had said that nothing big was missing but surely those men wouldn't have gone through all that trouble if they hadn't taken something of extreme important right?

"What do you have that's worth a lot and your parents don't know?" Vic asked, peering down at Ted from the bed.

Ted frowned, "Nothing really. Everything I own comes from my parents unless it's gifts or something and the last person to give me a gift was-"

There was a pause and then Ted's eyes widened and he shot to his feet while Vic seemed to get the same idea as he left off the bed.

"HARRY!" they both shouted in unison, starring at each other for a moment in shock before springing into action.

Clothes flew everywhere as Teddy and Vic grabbed them and flung them across the room, desperate to reach the bottom.

Before long anything that had been in the trunk had been flung out and the boys were left staring at its bottom.

"It's not here," Ted breathed, staring in mute shock at the empty trunk before him.

"Dammit Vic! The Invisibility Cloak is gone!" Ted shouted, shaking his friend a bit by the shoulders before a new voice shouted.

"It'll be OK Ted. I'm sure Harry will understand."

"He'll understand alright but that doesn't mean he'll like it. I'm doom-"

"AUROR DEPARTMENT! NOBODY MOVE!"

_"Click."_

The boys jumped a good foot in the air and quickly turned around only to find the strangest of sight before them.

Two hooded men stood in the doorway. Wands drawn and pointing menacingly at the two boys but Ted for once ignored them.

Instead he was quite focused on the man behind the two Aurors.

For, trenchcoat, fedora and all stood Q. A gun in each hand and he was pointing them straight at the two Auror's heads.

"Drop them," the man said with steel in his voice and after a while two wands clattered noisily to the floor as the two petrified aurors hesitantly raised their arms up in the air.

"We don't want any trouble," one of the men said nervously and Ted frowned, thanks to the bad lighting it was hard to make out these Aurors' faces but that stutter sounded somewhat familiar.

"….Neville?" Ted asked, stepping forward a bit and he heard a sigh of relief come from the other man.

"Q it's OK," Ted said motioning for the man to put the gun down.

"The boys right. No need for guns now," the other one stammered. This one sounded older….

"What're you doing here?" Ted asked as Q pocketed his guns and Neville took a hesitant step forward into the moonlight from the windows.

"I'm in charge of guarding the place since your mother's moved to the Burrow for a few days," he said reaching to draw the hood away from his face so that Ted could be absolutely sure it was Neville Longbottom.

"I'm sure you've met Proudfoot," Neville went on as he introduced the older man by the door.

"Yeah. He was partners with my mum," Ted mumbled, scrutinizing the man a bit before turning his attention back to Neville.

"Why didn't you show up when we called?" he asked and Neville fidgeted nervously, "We thought we should ambush you when you came in."

"Told you so," Ted muttered at Vic beside him.

"Who's your friend?" Proudfoot growled, indicating Q standing behind them, leaning against the opposite wall.

"Umm," Ted said, faltering a bit.

"Robert," the man interrupted and Ted shrugged, "Yeah. My dad's staying at his place," he finished and Proudfoot turned to give the man a glare.

"You sure he's not the one who bloody shot him in the first place?"

It wasn't more of a question but rather a threat and Ted could feel the tension coming from Proudfoot as he glared at Q. Ted sighed. Why couldn't everyone just get along?

"No. I trust him," Ted said, trying to make his voice sound strong.

"Isn't it illegal to carry guns around?" Proudfoot accused.

"No more than it is to carry around that stick of death," Q muttered.

"Now now let's not fight," Neville said a bit nervously as he planted himself between the two men.

There was a tense silence as the Auror and the Agent stared at each other before Proudfoot shoved his wand back into his pocket and marched back down the stairwell without a word.

"Why do I have to put up with this?" Ted heard Neville mutter.

"So. Did you figure out who did it?" Vic asked in what sounded like a last ditch effort to change the topic.

"No. No leads. We don't even know what they took. We can only assume they believed something to be here but were unable to find it."

_"But they did find it,"_ Ted thought to himself as his mind briefly filtered back to the missing invisibility cloak.

He opened his mouth but closed it again.

It made sense. They'd go to Harry's first and when they didn't find the cloak there they'd search the next likely house. The last of the Marauders: His dad.

But that wasn't what stopped Ted from speaking his find out loud. It was more to do with guilt. If he told Neville about the cloak then he'd be admitting that it was all his fault.

It was his fault that they ransacked Harry's place, upsetting not only Harry but Ginny and their children as well.

It was his fault Neville and the rest of the Auror department was here and not at home with their families.

It was his fault his mum had to worry and above all. It was his fault his dad had almost died.

Teddy suppressed a shudder and glanced at Vic who gave an encouraging smile.

"We can tell them later if you want," Vic whispered as Neville took to sit on the bed.

"So Ted. You've grown up. How's your summer been?"

"It's OK," Ted mumbled not feeling like he should remind his father's student that he was out of home, travelling with an agent of the secret service, his mother was in tears and his father was hanging onto life by a mere thread.

"Yours?" Ted asked and Neville sighed.

"Yes well. I'm thinking about quitting the Ministry. Maybe get a job as a teacher."

"At Hogwarts?" Ted asked, perking up.

"Well no. I don't think Hogwarts needs a teacher any time soon. Maybe in a few years," Neville said rather thoughtfully, "To be honest I haven't really given much thought to it."

"If you come to work at Hogwarts that'd be really cool!" Teddy said encouragingly.

"Well. We'll have to see. But don't blame me when I give you detentions," Neville said with a smile and Ted grinned back.

"Now weren't you supposed to be packing?"

"Mmm. My friends are taking me to the Summer Fair up in Yorkshire," Ted said proudly, "This is Vic by the way," Ted said, pointing to his friend who looked down at the floor awkwardly as he was introduced.

"Nice to meet you."

"You too sir."

"Now come on this stuff isn't going to fold itself you know," Teddy said, dragging Vic towards the trunk.

As clothes were once more thrown into the trunk and Ted couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved that the nasty details of last night's ordeal had been avoided.

He was left talking to Vic and Neville about mundane topics like what school had been like in their first year and what they were going to do at the Fair once they got there.

It wasn't long before Ted and Vic waved goodbye to the Auror and ran outside to find Q waiting for them patiently by his truck.

As Q silently placed the trunk in the back and the boys got in, Ted found a small object dropped into his lap.

"Might want it," Q muttered as the engine roared to life.

Ted stared at the man for a beat before he shrugged to himself and fingered his father's wand with his hand.

"Thanks. I'm sure he'll want it back," Ted said lamely but he smiled at the long, smooth piece of wood none the less.

The rest of the car ride was silent. Vic was looking through the window to one side and Ted was busy admiring the wand in his lap.

It felt like only a few seconds had passed before Ted looked up to find that the engine had stopped and they were back at the Rodor house.

"You going out?" Teddy asked Vic, as Q opened the door to leave.

"No," Vic said with some force that made Ted raise and eye, "Not until you tell me what's going on!"

Vic turned to Ted with a frown and Ted only stared back in confusion at his friend's sudden change of attitude.

Something inside him told him that he'd known Vic had stayed quiet for too long during the car ride.

"If he's a Muggle how does he know about magic? Why's he carry guns in his pocket as if it's legal? What's with the pylon thing? Why do you call him Q? And how'd he know where your house was without you telling him?" Vic said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Ted turned to look at Q who was by now standing just outside next to the car.

There was a silence for a while and Ted battled with what to tell his friend without giving everything away.

_"I should tell Vic right? He's my best friend. He wouldn't tell anyone."_ Ted's thoughts were haywire and just when he'd come to the conclusion that yes. He would spill the beans. Q suddenly spoke up.

"Part of the Secret Service. Q is my job title," he said and both boys paused to stare at him in shock.

"Will bring your things inside," the man muttered as he left for the house.

Vic and Ted stared at each other for a beat with the same look of shock on each of their faces.

"He's part of the British Secret Service?" Vic whispered and Ted nodded uncertainly. Vic wasn't the one to whisper…

"So. He's Q? Like in the movies?"

Again Ted nodded.

There was another silence as Vic frowned and Teddy wondered what his friend would say. Was he suspicious? Members of the Secret Service certainly don't blurt their titles to random children right? Maybe Vic thought Ted was lying to him or…

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Vic shouted and Ted jumped in surprise.

_"..or he can be Vic and shout at the top of his lungs,"_ Ted thought to himself with a smile.

"I wonder if he's met James Bond. Well maybe there is no James Bond but there has to be a 007 right? I wonder what his name is. You think this truck's got a secret button that shoots missiles or something? Come on Ted help me look!"

Ted clamped a hand over Vic's mouth.

"First. You can't tell anyone. I don't think even his family knows." Ted whispered and Vic gave several silent nods before Teddy removed his hand in relief, "And second. This isn't his truck. It's his brother's truck so I doubt you'll find any missiles in here," he added with a grin only to burst out laughing when Vic whined:

"Ahh maaan! Why'd you have to spoil everything Ted?"


	8. Love Is A Battlefield

After Vic's excited outburst it was only a few minutes later when they'd entered the house. Q had disappeared by then and Ted and Vic had been ushered upstairs for a much needed bath.

"You first. You stink. All that running in a forest makes you smell weird Ted."

"It's only been a day!" Ted protested but he left for the bathroom first anyways.

By the time he got out it was almost bed time and Ted frowned. Where was he supposed to sleep?

He wandered around aimlessly for a bit before finding his way to Q's room and pushed the door open expecting Q and Helena curled up on the bed once again.

Instead he stopped short.

He'd totally forgotten that they'd moved his father up here when they left.

He visually traced the wires and the tubes, involuntarily shuddering as he watched the blood drip down the IV and disappearing into his father's arm.

He watched the heart monitor placed rather precariously on the nightstand and the breathing machine sitting on a stool before it. The heart monitor was making soothing beeping noises and Ted found took mild interest in it as the lines moved up and down along the matrix.

It all look rather cramped and it probably didn't help that the bed was placed in the corner of the room so that there was almost no place to place the IV stands and the machines.

Ted should leave. He could hear Vic finishing up his shower. No doubt in a few minutes he would be found and dragged out of the room anyways.

Nevertheless Ted idled by the door observing his father's state.

He looked rather peaceful at least. Much better than last night by what Teddy saw. The doctors had managed to wrestle his father into a pair of baggy pajamas leaving the shirt unbuttoned so that the heart sensors would be left free. Remus' forearm and torso were bandaged in soft gauze. A blanket hung low around his waist and the breathing mask was still in place sitting almost delicately on his face.

Suddenly the heart monitor's constant beeps jolted and Ted jumped slightly as his father shifted before giving a quiet moan.

"Dad?" Ted whispered.

Remus' brows furrowed as he struggled to awaken from drug-induced sleep.

"Dad?" Ted asked again, walking towards the bed a bit debating whether or not to grab his father's arm.

He watched his father lift his hand to rub at his eyes, frowning slightly at the resistance that the wires and needles gave him.

"Ted?" Remus rasped, blinking a few times to clear his vision and Teddy's heart gave a happy flip of relief.

"Yeah it's me. Are you OK?" Ted asked a bit nervously.

"Mmm. Been better," his father mumbled. His voice sounded warped by the breathing mask and he absently traced the smooth plastic with his other hand.

"You shouldn't play with that," Ted mumbled and Remus raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. Normally it was the parents giving such orders to their kids. Not the other way around.

"You sure you're alright? Do you want anything?" Teddy asked again and Remus frowned ever so slightly.

"No need…..to worry," he mumbled.

Ted looked down at his shoes, "I worry anyways."

"Why?"

Ted suddenly had the urge to cry but his twelve year old mind told him that that would be childish.

"Because it's all my fault," he whispered ever so quietly before he ran out of the room.

"Ted," Remus shouted only it was more of a croak. He let loose a string of curses inside his head. He could barely lift his arm yet alone go running after his son.

"….Vic? I know you're there," Remus rasped and low and behold Vic Sage poked his head into the room a bit sheepishly.

"How long've you been….standing there?"

"A while now. I finished my bath and saw Ted but he was talking to you so I waited….Ran right past me," Vic sad with a nervous grin as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Can you bring mm back?" Remus slurred and Vic gave a determined nod before running out the door.

After running out the room Ted was left with a loss at what to do.

He should find Q. Maybe he could ask him where he was supposed to sleep for the night.

Wandering the house aimlessly proved not as beneficial as expected.

"This place is huge," Ted grumbled.

He'd just neared the kitchen when he noticed the sliding back door was open.

_"There he is!"_

"For the son and brother of doctors you're not very smart are you?"

Ted paused. As he got closer he realized that it wasn't just Q. Helena was standing above him. Staring down at her husband with a frown and hands on her hips. Said husband was lying on his back, legs dangling off the edge of the patio and hands behind his head as he stared up at the stars…or rather his scolding wife's face.

"You can get lung cancer from that shit," Helena continued and Ted, upon closer inspection realized Q had a cigarette clasped firmly in his mouth.

"I can also get pancreatic cancer, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, strokes, heart attacks, peripheral vascular disease…."

"Alright alright," Helena said with a sigh, "**I **can get lung cancer from that shit."

Q spat out the cigarette and snuffed it out on the patio.

"Better?"

"No."

"You smoked too."

"I stopped when I became a teacher."

"Only been a few years."

"It's been five Q!"

"Five's not much."

"It is when you've only been around for 29."

"It's not when you've been around for 31."

"You're only a year older than me."

"Right now I'm not."

"Well in a week you will be."

"Now you're changing the subject."

Helena opened her mouth a few times before giving a growl and sitting down, poking her husband in the chest as she did so.

"You're a smug git when you want to be you know that?"

"I know everything."

"See? Smug git."

"Hmm."

Ted would have laughed but he didn't think this was an appropriate time. He watched as Helena, despite her annoyance at her husband, shifted closer and Q wrapped and arm around her waist.

They were silent for a while before Helena sighed again and lay down at an angle so that her head was pillowed by Q's stomach.

"It's too quiet," she whispered. "Tell me what you know."

There was a pause as Q seemed to organize his thoughts.

"What do you want to know?" he mumbled.

"Everything."

"War," Q started, "Pearl Harbour attack was not a surprise attack. US president Roosevelt told the US Department of State to keep it quiet. Knew that the attack would increase the US to enter World War II. Adolf Hitler never committed suicide. Soviets never found body. He lived in Spain before dying of old age. US bombing of China embass-"

"Too depressing." Helena interrupted and Q paused again before going on. Apparently this was an accustomed position for the couple.

"States. Really is a magic bullet. Forged by Illuminati mystics to hide the truth. Girl Scouts are the cause of the crop circle phenomenon. Russia. Fluoridated toothpaste does not prevent tooth decay. Instead renders user's teeth detectable to spy satellites. France. Government is brainwashing people through secret messages coded in amino acid chains in low-carb cereal bars. Canada. Increasing popularity of instant messaging sites leads to an increase of page views about lesbian, Hungarian prostitutes. Korea. Ominous link between boy bands and global warming. Japan. Aglets are- mpfh!"

Teddy quickly turned away as Helena moved in a blur to catch her husband's lips, effectively stopping him from talking.

When they'd separated Ted could hear Helena's teasing tone.

"You're getting weirder."

There was a pause and Ted spared a glimpse at the couple only to find Helena sitting on Q's stomach grinning down at him seductively.

Ted quickly turned back around.

"What else do you know?" Ted heard her ask.

"Hormones…." Q mumbled. "Released into the bloodstream…releases dopamine, norepinephrine and phenylethylamine. Can heighten attention, short term memory, sleeplessness, goal- oriented behavious..." Ted heard Q trail off before a weak admittance of, "Helena…I can't think like this,"

Helena laughed.

"You want me to get off?"

"No."

"Does your family know you're a closet pervert?"

"No."

"You don't deny it?"

"Not with you sitting on me like this."

"You think too much Q."

"So I've been told."

"I can make you stop."

Ted turned beet red and made a hasty exit only to trip over his own feet and make a face plant with the floor. For a second he didn't dare move, afraid that he'd been spotted but the couple outside seemed oblivious.

"Not here," Q muttered.

"Why not?"

"We're on my dad's back patio…" Q reminded his wife gently and there was a pause.

"…..You're 31…and you legally still live with your father…"

There was another silence. Ted remained silent

"….So?" came Q's reply shortly later.

"That's pathetic."

Ted muffled a snort as Q made an offended sound in what sounded like the back of his throat.

"There's always your apartment and when I'm abroad…."

"Yes but legally your home address is listed here."

"I can change it."

"Why don't you then?"

"Because then they'd get suspicious. They don't know I have a job. If I moved out they'd wonder where I'm getting the money from."

"I always said you could move in."

"Too far from work though."

Ted heard Helena sigh, "I think you should tell them," she insisted.

This time it was Q to sigh, "I'm the second child that didn't amount to anything in life so I live with my father because I have no job and no money. Fits. Don't need to get angry."

"No it doesn't fit. He just auctioned off your room for crying out loud."

"Lupin needs it and I don't sleep."

"Plus he tells you to do all this stuff when you've got your own work to deal with."

"I don't mind."

"And he insults you and glares at you every time he sees you."

"It's expected."

"And he always tells Myra 'don't be a useless pylon like your brother'. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Should it?"

"For a man who knows everything you're a real moron Q."

"Mrrm."

"You know. I loved my father. I told him so every day and I told my friends it too. Even if I was fifteen I'd still sleep with him if I wanted comfort and I always told him everything. When he died it was the saddest day of my life. I stayed home from school for two weeks and I sat by his grave talking about the most random things like he was still there."

"….Helena?" Q asked but Helena ignored him

"I like to think telling my father about me makes him happy. I like to think that he liked it when I said 'I love you' and when I lay next to him even when I was considered too old for such things. Even now I like to think that I always have his support and love and that he's always with me dead or alive."

"…you want me to sleep with my dad?" Q asked in total confusion and Helena sighed.

"No you retard. I want you to tell him the truth about you."

"This never bothered you before."

"Yes but I've never stayed so long with him and you in the same house before."

"….Your dad and my dad are different…."

"You don't get it Q!" Helena shouted, "All dads are the same somewhere. They all love their children if their children show they love them back."

"….Doubt it."

Ted heard Helena gave a mix of a sigh and a growl. No doubt she knew just as well as he did that she wasn't going to win this argument any time soon.

Nevertheless he took that as his cue to leave as he slowly and quietly raised himself off the floor and ran back into the house. He'd spied enough as it was.

* * *

"Your dad wants to see you," Vic said, staring down at Ted who was reading a book on the living room couch.

"Why?" Ted asked, closing his book with a curious expression?

"What do you mean why? You practically ran out of his room like the devil was after you!" Vic replied. "Your dad's probably worried. Hell I'd be."

"He shouldn't worry," Ted mumbled feebly.

"Exactly so you get your ass up there and tell him what's wrong."

"What do I say?"

Vic shrugged, "I dunno. Like I said, tell him what's wrong."

"But then he'll think it's all my fault."

Vic paused and turned this information around in his head for a bit. Suddenly his eyes brightened as if a light bulb had gone off.

"No he won't," Vic said with a sigh as he realized what his friend was talking about, "have a little faith. He's your dad. He'd love you no matter what."

"But-" Ted started but Vic shook his head stubbornly.

"No buts. Get your ass up there and cry to him and tell him you love him and that you're actually happy he's alright and all that father son shit before you come back to me with your 'but's."

Ted opened and closed his mouth a few times before he found himself dragged to his feet and pushed and shoved out the living room door.

"And don't come back," Vic said with a nod as he shut the door behind him.

Ted stared at the closed door for a beat before giving it a small smile and running up the steps of the house.

_"Thanks Vic."_

* * *

The room hadn't changed when he'd left it under an hour ago. His father had dozed back off but he was still in roughly the same position as before.

"Dad?" Ted whispered, nudging his father's shoulder gently.

Remus' eyes opened sluggishly at first only for him to rapidly blink them open as he saw Ted standing over him.

"Ted?" he mumbled, still drugged and half asleep.

"I'm sorry," Ted blurted out, "I wasn't avoiding you. I love you and I'm happy you're OK. Really. It's just that. I'm….afraid…"

Remus raised an eyebrow and Ted looked down at his shoes.

"It's my fault."

"Why…would it be….your fault?" Remus rasped and Ted hunched his shoulders.

"Because. Harry gave me his invisibility cloak during the summer and those men were after that. That's the only thing that was missing in the house."

There was a short silence and Ted gulped. No doubt his father must be mad but his drugged up state meant that he couldn't react to the anger.

Suddenly, there was a dry laugh and Ted jumped. His dad was smiling rather weakly at him.

"Poisoned in your first year. Shot in your second….. Keep this up and I won't be around….to..to see you graduate Ted," Remus managed to choke out before giving several coughs.

Ted stared silently at his father, humiliation slowly seeping in but Remus reacted before his son could make another run for it.

"Come here," he rasped, patting the bed beside him feebly.

Ted went right up to him but then paused.

"You sure?"

"Mmm. Won't break Ted," his father reminded him and carefully Ted clambered onto the bed managing to effectively wedge himself between his father and the wall on the other side.

"You're not mad?" Ted asked as his father absently stroked his hair.

"No. Why would…I be?"

"Because-"

"Because Harry gave you something…..that he thought was for….a good cause and some people suddenly decided…..to steal it?" Remus had to pause to take a few breaths before continuing, "Or was it because you….you opened the door for them….in the first place?"

Ted stayed silent but he nodded slightly, pressing him against his father a bit more.

"Not your fault Ted."

"It feels like it," Teddy mumbled, "What do you feel?"

"Happy."

"What?" Ted asked, looking up to see his father's face as if he was insane.

"Mmm. Happy….you weren't hurt. That's my….biggest fear Ted," Remus mumbled, eyes falling to half slits as he slowly let himself fall back asleep.

Ted stared at his father for a while before lying back down feeling somewhat happier than before.

He liked this. His father's hand still lay on his shoulder, comforting and supportive like it had always been. He might be a bit old for this sleeping with your dad thing but that was OK. His mind briefly filtered back to what Helena had said mere moments before:

_I like to think telling my father about me makes him happy. I like to think that he liked it when I said 'I love you' and when I lay next to him even when I was considered too old for such things._

"I love you dad," Ted whispered but he didn't think his father had heard him for by the time he looked back up he was fast asleep.

Ted smiled none the less and got himself comfortable. He lay awake for quite some time. Listening to his father's breathing and the heart monitor. It was soothing and Ted didn't want it to go any time soon.

After a while Ted noticed a shadow by the door and he looked up.

Q stood in the doorway. An IV bag in one hand and his laptop in another.

He noticed Ted and Ted could see he was fighting against a raised eyebrow.

"You think I'm too old for this," Ted accused instantly and Q nodded before moving to change the IV.

"But it doesn't bother you," Q replied neutrally and this time it was Ted's turn to nod before lying back down again.

Q said nothing more as he finished replacing the bags and crossed the small room to sit on his desk, back leaning against the same wall the headboard of the bed was placed.

Ted didn't really think it was proper to kick the man from his own room. At least he was facing the other side.

"Night Q," Ted mumbled as he muffled a yawn.

Q gave a nod as he opened up his laptop but Ted noticed the brief flicker of green eyes at the father and son on the bed. The look resembled a bit of neutrality towards the situation but deep within Ted saw a young boy that desperate needed to know why.

_"Helena's right. You don't get it Q," _Ted thought to the man staring stubbornly at the laptop by now,_ "You think you know everything but you can't understand why a child would want to sleep with his father. You go off and do things your way without any support or comfort from your dad and here I am lying here like my dad's my anchor. It bothers you, not knowing. Deep down you're jealous but you can't figure out why. Your brain says it's hormones but you're trying to explain something that isn't possible. I don't know everything. But I do know that you don't get it because you don't love your father."_

Ted frowned to himself as he drifted off.

_"And you know that he'll never love you."_

* * *

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. This school semester is way too hectic.

I have no clue what the chapter titles are supposed to be. Expect them changed when I think of something better. Title of this chapter is from Pat Benetar's song in case people were wondering :P

And so far if people haven't noticed I'm having characters from all sorts of different family backgrounds. Teddy's the "perfect kid" where his parents would love him no matter what. Roy and Vic are the "dream kids" who don't have parents to tell them what to do and a free to do whatever they want really. Q is the "reality kid" where you're brought up with these great expectations by your parents and you can't or even won't follow them. I'll be adding two, maybe three more kids along the way.

PS: Q's conspiracy theories in the middle are half from history class, half from comic books and one or two I made up myself.

Reviews appreciated!


	9. Scarborough Fair

Ted awoke the next morning to sunlight filtering in through the curtains. He raised his head to find his dad still asleep and Q still sitting on his desk in exactly the same position the night before.

"Morning," Ted mumbled with a yawn and Q turned his head to blink dully at him.

"Did you sit there all night?" Ted asked feeling a sense of awkwardness but Q shrugged his indifferent shrug.

"Hungry?" he asked instead and Ted nodded as he stood up and, managing to step over his father, clumsily got off the bed.

As they went downstairs Ted realized that there was noise coming from the kitchen.

"…there's a carousal and a haunted house for the little kids and there's street vendors performers- hey Ted!"

Ted grinned as he found Vic enthusiastically seated at the table with Helena sipping a cup of coffee next to him.

"Vic was just telling me about the fair you're going to. Sounds like a lot of fun," Helena said and Vic beamed.

"Yeah and there's those carnival kinda games and shows and all sorts of stuff. Wanna come?" Vic asked and Helena looked amused.

"What do you say?" she asked to the man by the stove.

"Now?" he replied, turning to face the pair with a bewildered look on his face

"Well not now. It's not even breakfast time. We can leave whenever you want," Vic said with a look at Ted who nodded.

"It'll be fun," he added when Q gave the faintest of frowns and turned back to his cooking.

"Eat first," he said as pointed to the cabinets so Ted and Vic could fetch their own plates.

Breakfast was a blur as Vic told Ted and Helena about all the things to do at the Fair. They waved their goodbyes to the rest of the Rodors as one by one they left for work. In fact, Ted had been so absorbed by Vic's excited rambling during and even after breakfast that he hadn't even notice Q leave until he came back about an hour or so later.

"Well?" Helena asked. By then the group had moved to the family room where the boys were busy watching cartoons on the television.

At Helena's question both Vic and Ted looked up expectantly.

"Two weeks. Can leave now if you must," Q replied and he was awarded by an affectionate kiss by Helena as Ted and Vic jumped in delight.

"Wait. But don't pack too soon!" Ted said as he dashed back up the stairs.

His footsteps slowed by his father's room and he peeked inside happy to see that the commotion downstairs hadn't disturbed his father's rest.

"Dad?" he whispered but Remus didn't respond.

"Dad?" he asked again, nudging his father but Remus only succeeded in giving a small mewling sound before drifting back off. It didn't look like he wanted to wake any time soon.

"Ted? Where'd you go?" Vic called from downstairs and Ted sighed before doing a sweep of the room and grabbing a pen.

"Coming!" he cried and a few minutes later he dashed back out the door.

"Come on. What took you so long? I called Roy and everything now grab your trunk and let's go!" Vic called again and Ted quickly did just that.

"Don't leave without me!" Ted exclaimed as he hurried down the steps.

"We taking the train?" Ted asked as he reached Vic waiting by the door but his friend shook his head, "Not when 007s got his own car," he said with a grin and Ted frowned.

"Don't call him that."

"I know I know but hey it's cool don't you think?"

"You think everything's cool," Ted mocked and Vic grinned in reply.

Ted let Q load his things into the back of the car and they went back in to help Helena with her things.

"All set?" Helena asked as they finally had everything packed and ready to go.

The two boys gave eager nods before getting into the car. Ted was satisfied to find that Q had done a good job in cleaning his car. Not a color was out of place as all stains had been painstakingly removed and the car smelt clean and refreshing after being doused repeatedly in water all of yesterday.

The car ride itself was pleasant to say the least. Ted had been told not to read or play video games in the car as it would cause car sickness but he was much too busy marveling at the scenery whizzing by them to play games anyways.

Vic was also having a good time looking through his own window and for several hours the boys sat in silent awe as the car radio played its tunes and the landscape rolled by..

They took breaks now and then as every road trip had to do. Gas stations were like sanctuaries, especially for that time Ted had to desperately go to the bathroom. They ate at random fast food restaurants and once even had a small shopping outbreak at a mall.

Vic and Helena seemed to have made fast friends as he talked openly about the most random things that sometimes left her and Teddy himself holding their sides in laughter. Even Q seemed to have relaxed a bit although he said nothing unless practically forced to by his wife.

But after a while as the morning sun rose and fell the inevitable came.

"Are we there yet?" Ted asked finally as boredom began to kick in.

"Hour or so," Q replied, eyes not leaving the road.

"It'll be dark out in a few minutes."

"Stops made it longer. Bit behind schedule," Q replied and Ted left it at that.

"So. Do you know where to meet Roy when we get there?" Ted asked to his friend who shrugged.

"The plan was for us to call him when we get there and he'll find us."

"You know plans like that always go wrong," Ted said in good humor and Vic grinned again.

"Guess we'll just have to go and find out. Did you guys have a hotel stop in mind by any chance?" Vic asked, directing the last statement to the two adults at the front.

"Yup. It's all in here," Helena said reaching to pat her husband's head with her hand.

"Haha," Q replied with sarcasm before brushing his wife's hand off his head.

"Wait. We don't know Q's name," Ted suddenly called out. It was true. This whole time it'd just been 'Q' and surely you can't just go walking around a crowded area with a single letter name. He remembered when they'd met Neville and Proudfoot Q had been introduced as "Robert" but surely that was more of a "first thing that popped into you head" name other than an actual name.

"That right. What is it this time?" Helena asked and Ted had a feeling "this time" meant there had been other times so really Q probably went through a thousand names a year.

"Can we stick with Q names?" Vic asked and Ted nodded in agreement. That would make things so much simpler.

"There's not that many Q names," Helena mumbled as she frowned in thought.

"Qadir?"

Q raised an eyebrow, "Not Arabic," he murmured and Helena nodded. "Yeah didn't think so. Help boys?"

"Quinn?" Vic asked eager to jump in.

"Can be confused for a girl."

"Quintrell?" Vic asked again.

"Awkward to pronounce."

"Quinlan?"

"No."

"Quennel? Quillan? Quinby? Quincy?"

Q shook his head. "Too long. Can't pronounce. Sound weird."

"Geez you're picky," Helena mumbled, "Qing? Qi? Quy? Quang? Quan?" she asked only to trail off when she saw her husband's raised eyebrow.

"No good?"

"I'm not Asian either Helena," he reminded her and Helena shrugged, "So? I know kids in my school who have those names."

"Because their _parents _are Asian."

"Quinton," Ted suddenly spoke up and all eyes were focused on him, "Always liked that name," he added with a shrug and Helena nodded.

"Alright. That's as English as it's ever going to get. Quinton it is."

Q made a "Hrmm" sound but resumed driving quietly. Ted liked to think he approved.

The car was silent once again with only the radio playing in the background. Ted watched as the night sky got darker and the streetlamps by the sides of the roads began to turn on one by one.

He was just starting to nod off when Vic suddenly shot up from his seat.

"We're here!" he shouted and Teddy gave a startled jump.

"Geez Vic keep it down," he said, but Vic ignored him as he frantically pointed out his window.

"See that Ted? You see it?" Vic asked excitedly and Ted craned his neck to look out Vic's window.

And through the patches of trees along the highway he made out a large circle of glowing lights filling up the night sky.

"Cool," Ted breathed.

"It's a Ferris wheel Ted. It looks really nice at night," Vic said nodding his head a bit in approval, "That's where we're going. The wheel's the center of the whole fair."

Ted found it hard to keep still after that as his feelings of anticipation had him jumping up and down in his seat. He almost wanted to tell Q to drive faster had it not been for the sensible part of his brain saying that wouldn't be wise.

But soon they were driving into a hotel where the sights and sounds of the fair were practically right next door.

"Unpack and then go," Q said and Vic looked up at him.

"You mean we can stay?" he asked in a bit of confusion.

"Of course. You can't expect us to just leave you here can you?" Helena asked and Vic gave a happy shout.

"Awesome. Thanks a lot!" he said with a happy grin as they made for the lobby.

"I'll go phone Roy!" he said waving bye to Ted as he sped off towards the pay phones.

"Come on," Helena said, steering Ted over to the counter where Q was talking to someone at the front desk.

Ted watched curiously as Q scrawled down what looked like a legit signature before being presented with two room keys.

"Don't lose it," Q said as he handed one to Ted who nodded excitedly.

Rushing into the elevator Ted was anxious to see what his room would look like. He'd never been in a hotel before and he'd never imaged he'd ever be in one with people he'd only met a few days ago.

"Alright. Our room's right beside yours. Play safe," Helena said with a grin as she dragged her husband into the door next to Ted's own.

Ted started at the key card he was holding and then at the locked door.

'This way in,' the card read and Ted quickly stuffed the card into the reader giving a pleased smile when the card reader gave a beep and the door clicked open.

_"That was easy,"_ Ted thought to himself as he let himself in.

As the door swung closed Ted was left with a bathroom to the left of him and a closet to his right. Further in were three large well made beds facing a series of drawers where Ted was delighted to find a television sitting naturally on top.

The view was amazing. Ted could see well into the fair from their floor and the Ferris wheel from earlier shone like the sun.

He'd just managed to plop down onto the nearest bed with a woosh of air before there came a knock at the door.

"Let us in Ted!" came a shout followed by more banging.

"Alright alright. Geez," Ted called from inside. Letting his friends bound into the room.

"You got here fast," Ted said as Vic gave a loud shout of delight at the room and diving into a bed.

"This is awesome! I finally get a bed to myself," Vic said happily and Ted heard a sigh behind him.

"Hey Roy. Long time no see. Shame you didn't get any taller," Ted called over his shoulder as he shut the door.

"Screw you," Roy said with a smirk as he dropped his backpack to the ground and flopped down on his own bed.

Ted laughed before tackling the smaller boy and causing the mattress to wobble precariously.

"It's only been like three days Ted," Roy said as he pushed Ted off and made room for him on the bed.

"Yeah and do you have any idea the shit that happened in those three days?" Ted asked him, stretching slightly. "Damn this bed is big," he murmured, distracted.

"So. We're free now. What do you want to do Ted?" Vic asked.

Ted shrugged, "How should I know? You guys are the masters of this place."

"Well I'm hungry, let's grab some food first," Vic said as he romped his way back to the door, "then we can go on some rides and probably call it a night. Oh and we'll show you where we work Ted!"

Ted grinned at his friend's enthusiasm before he was pushed off the bed by Roy and followed his friends out the door.

The night was a blur.

Ted was always amazed whenever he saw someone breathe fire out of his mouth or step on needles in the show stands that littered the fair grounds. Other street performers seemed to just camp out at some random location, juggling balls and doing magic tricks right in people's faces.

It was organized chaos, children ran through ticket lines and people shouted out to come try their luck at various booths. Music was blasting from speakers placed throughout the area and the bright lights and loud colors screamed attention from one ride to the next.

It seemed like there was a place for everything and Ted quickly found himself caught up in the wave as Vic and Roy led him around the campus.

They had candy apples and jelly beans topped off with hotdogs and slushie drinks from nearby street vendors. By then the boys were practically jumping off the walls and it took only a few extra rides to make them feel sick. After that it was a race to find a gentler ride that wouldn't make all three of them upchuck everything they had eaten.

"Hey let's go on the Ferris wheel," Ted said, gesturing to the massive centerpiece of the fair.

"Have you seen that line? It's huge!" Vic complained, pointing to the massive line of people twisting and turning its way around the park stemming from the entrance to the ride.

"We'll go tomorrow Ted. It'll look better to you in the day time," Roy said only for his brother to interrupt, "Yeah. Now it's just couples who want some romance action up there," he supplied and Ted made a rather disturbed face eyeing the wheel with a hint of wariness now.

"No one's doing that stuff up there Ted," Roy said with a sigh and a smack to his brother's head for spouting nonsense.

"Fine but now what?" he asked as the boys continued on their way.

"It's just past ten. We can still check in with the Boss," Vic said with a nod to himself.

Ted raised a quizzical eyebrow at Roy who shrugged.

"Mr. Jeevas. He's our employer."

"I thought you played the trumpet," Ted said, confused.

"I do. Mr. Jeevas hires the magic folk to advertise during the day and then we perform for him in the show he hosts at night time for the Muggles. We split the cash. It pays pretty well," Roy added as an afterthought.

"What? But he's just using magic to trick Muggles!" Ted argued, appalled at the fact that Roy and Vic would just sell off their skills.

"He's using magic to show Muggles magic," Roy replied and Ted paused to think about that.

"He's not a bad guy Ted trust me. It's not just us either. He's got a whole bunch of other people working for him who could use the money. He gives us housing, food and a job and if anything gets out of hand he can just obliviate the audience. It's safe and it rakes in dough. Muggles think it's just a magic show and it really _is_ a magic show. It's up to them to decide if it's real or not," Roy finished and Ted frowned.

It didn't really seem that bad if you put it like that and it was good that the magic folk could make use of their talents without fear of being discovered. Keep the truth so close to the surface and it was almost ensured that people would miss it entirely. Call it a magic show and actually use magic and most Muggles wouldn't even know it was real.

_"Unless you're someone like Q,"_ Ted thought briefly to himself but he was nudged by Roy as their feet had led them to a small theater to the side of the fair.

"It's closed," Ted said, pointing to the sign and frowning deeply when Vic walked over the turnstiles and waved for the others to hurry up.

"It's always closed. Show doesn't start until eleven and then it goes on till midnight," Roy said only to take a glance at Ted's guarded expression, "Relax Ted. We work here remember?" Roy finished with a grin as he too ducked underneath the turnstiles and made his way up to the entrance of the theater.

Ted felt a feeling of unease slowly creep over him looking at what seemed to be an abandoned theater.

"Isn't this how scary movies start?" Ted muttered to himself but he figured since Roy and Vic were with him it couldn't be too bad.

Afraid his friends would leave without him, Ted quickly clambered through and ran up to meet the pair. Then, much to his surprise, Roy and Vic led him around the building and through a back door. All the while Ted had to keep reassuring himself that Vic and Roy knew this area and they would be welcome here.

"What're you guys doing here?" someone asked as soon as they entered the building.

Ted jumped as the door closed with a bang behind him and he whirled around.

He realized that while the outside looked rather dark and eerie the inside was bright and festive looking.

"We got back early," Roy said casually and Ted's attention was drawn back to the person who had spoken earlier. It took a while of clueless searching before his eyes finally rested on a tall yet skinny boy to his right who was carrying an armful of boxes and looked to be in danger of dropping them.

The boy was dressed in a pair of jeans and a green sleeveless shirt although his face was mostly covered by the boxes

"Need help?" Ted asked, reaching to grab onto a box. In doing so the face of the boy was revealed.

Spiky blonde hair, blue eyes…."Hey! I know you!" Ted said suddenly and the boy adjusted the load in his arms before looking up, recognition dawned in his eyes a few minutes later.

"Oh. It's you. Lupin's kid right?" he asked and Ted nodded dumbly.

"Yeah and you're Matt," Ted replied and the boy nodded in return.

Ted had seen Matt before many times at Hogwarts. Although the boy before him was several years older than Ted and his friends he was a fellow Gryffindor. He was popular with the girls and considered cool enough to hang out with the guys. He was practically infamous as the mature, calm, collected type. Older kids respected him and younger kids looked up to him which was saying something for just a fourth year.

Ted had never really talked to him during his first year but Matt got around one way or another. Ted just never expected him to show up here of all places.

"Matt Jeevas. Nice to see you here," Matt went on cutting Ted out of his thoughts.

"Oh. Yeah. Wasn't really expecting you either," Ted said, shooting Vic and Roy a questioning look as to why no one told him there was someone he knew at this place.

"I'm Teddy by the way," he added rather awkwardly and Matt nodded.

"Of course. Everyone knows the werewolf tamer. Now come on. We'll go put these down and I'll show you to my dad."

"Werewolf tamer?" Ted whispered to his friends and Roy only shrugged.

"You're like infamous Ted. That stunt you pulled off last year is gonna follow you for the rest of your life," he said with a smirk and Ted sighed. Now that he thought about it there was no doubt that he was probably one of the few kids in the world who could tame a feral werewolf. Not only that but on that fateful day last year he'd also played a large part in capturing Fenrir Greyback; a criminal at large for decades. Ted had never really been affected by it. Roy and Vic and his fellow first year friends hadn't treated him any different but he'd never realized what an impact it would have had on the people he didn't know and the world in general.

It made him feel odd that people knew _him_ but he didn't know _them_.

"Dad? Someone new to see you," Matt called and as they passed by a group of men talking to each other by the wall.

Matt then dumped off his stuff in a corner before grabbing Teddy's box.

"Good luck," Matt muttered to Ted as left the group alone.

Ted didn't even have the time to question anything before he was engulfed in a bear hug from behind as a loud booming voice echoed:

"And this must be Teddy! I've heard so much about you! Metamorphagus correct? I could run a whole show with your talents!"

Ted struggled out of the death grip to find Vic snickering quietly into his hand and a man before him smiling down at him.

The man seemed to be all set for a performance. His hair was slicked back and his face looked like it had been abused with white powder. He was dressed very formally and Ted could only assume through the makeup that the man must be a bit younger than his own father.

But what bugged Teddy was that whenever the man smiled he showed off incredibly long, sharp canines that appeared to be covered in red.

"Is that blood?" Ted asked before he could help himself and the man chuckled.

"Why yes. Painted them myself. What do you think?" he asked and Teddy, rather uncomfortable simply nodded in what he hoped stood for approval.

"Good now. What are your talents. Can you morph different body parts? Or just your face? You don't have any werewolf talents do you? No acute sense of hearing? No craving for raw meat?"

"Umm no?" Ted asked.

"Well that's alright. You can still perform. We'll have a whole segment of the show just for you. It'll be grand. Come now we'd better get you fitted for a costume."

"Wait!" Ted said trying to stop the flow of words that he was having difficulties dealing with.

"Umm. Sorry. But I don't really want to perform," Ted mumbled as everyone stopped to stare at him.

There was a long silent pause by the ringmaster and Ted had a feeling the other performers behind them were also watching him intently.

He didn't really know why but he just didn't want to perform. He didn't feel comfortable being displayed up on stage and forced to show Muggles and wizards alike his abilities. If he thought about his father surely he wouldn't have approved. Sure maybe some people like Vic and Roy wouldn't mind but they had no one to tell them otherwise. Teddy on the other hand didn't feel comfortable being used by a man he barely knew.

"That's OK Ted. We didn't think you'd be up for it either," Vic said, loud voice smashing through the silence, "You could help with tickets and stuff like admission. Or you could be a back stage hand."

Ted didn't think that was too bad and he looked at Mr. Jeevas guiltily but he received a warm smile much to his surprise.

"Yes well that'd probably be for the best. I had the whole show planned out before you anyways. It wouldn't have worked out if we just added another segment in."

Ted nodded looking relieved at the man's acceptance.

"Thank you mister. I promise I'll work really hard," Ted said and the man nodded.

"I'll have Matt show you the ropes tomorrow evening. Right now we have a show to host. Chop chop people!" he shouted to the rest of the people on stage.

As people bustled about for last minute preparations Vic and Roy steered Ted out of the way with a word of thanks and encouragement to Mr. Jeevas.

"I expect you two to be ready tomorrow night though understand?" the man shouted and Vic and Roy nodded before waving him off.

"So how'd it go?" Matt asked as the boys made to the furthest corner of the stage.

"It was interesting. Can come back for the performance?" Vic asked and Matt shrugged as they left the bright, crowed building to the cool outdoors.

"I run the doors. Shouldn't be a problem," he replied.

"What do you say Ted? Up for it?" Vic asked and Ted shrugged.

"Sure I'm game. When is it?"

"There's three shows. Main one runs from eleven to midnight," Matt said, pointing to the entrance sign, "you've got about half an hour."

"Then there's one from 1 to 2 and another from 2 to 3 but only the grownups perform in those ones," Vic went on and Ted frowned.

"Why so late?"

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow, "my dad's a vampire."

* * *

And somewhere all the way back in London Remus Lupin would open his eyes to find a note hanging from the dresser.

_Mum says it might be safer outside London so I'm going to the Fair with Vic and Roy. Don't worry. Q and Helena are with us. They might not look like it but they're good people. Get better soon. Then we can go shopping in Diagon together like you promised._

_Love Teddy._

And Remus smiled.

* * *

Anyone notice the mistake I made a few chapters back regarding my AU universe? No? Good. Keep it like that until I work up the effort to change it :P

And starting now I'm gonna try and make chapter titles references of songs or movies. I'm doing pretty good so far. Guess where this one came from.

If you've made it this far leave me a review!


	10. Magical Mystery Tour

_"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Magical Mystery Tour. Hold on to your seats because you're about to be bowled over by the wonders I'm going to show you tonight!"_

As Ted lay awake back in his hotel room, memories of light and music filling his head he had to conclude that tonight truly had been exciting.

He never thought that magic could be so entertaining when paired with an orchestra, flashy effects and a humorous announcer.

He and his friends, including Matt, had all had a pretty cool time and Matt even treated them out for ice cream when the show was over. They talked about mundane subjects like what they would do once school started and other things. Along the way Ted learned a lot about the older boy. He was nice; always calm and collected and he stood up for the important things like friends and family. And even with the age difference and employment status Matt didn't treat Ted and his friends any less than other kids his age.

Ted could see why others at school looked up to him. Ted himself liked him too.

But still, something at the back of his mind was nudging him.

_"Didn't anyone tell you? My dad's a vampire."_

Ted frowned. The whole time he'd met Mr. Jeevas and seen him on stage he certainly didn't seem like a vampire. More of an average man dressed up like one.

He'd never met a vampire before and that notion had left him somewhat excited and disappointed when Mr. Jeevas and Matt didn't turn into a bat and shy away from sunlight like people said they would.

Then again, surely vampires were just normal people as well right? Like werewolves and goblins and all sorts of magical beings. It wouldn't do Ted any good to start believing in Muggle fairy tales.

Instead he focused on something else. What would such a relationship mean? Being the kid of a werewolf Ted knew that having a dad with some sort of "condition" could be problematic. Ted knew his dad feared that he wouldn't love him anymore for who he was but Ted had always been stubborn like his mother anyways.

Ted didn't even know if Matt was vampire himself. Was it genetic? Was it transferable? Would Matt hate Mr. Jeevas for giving his condition to him? Would Ted if he'd been born a werewolf?

Ted shook his head and got off his bed. He knew he loved his dad but did Matt love his? He'd already met one person who couldn't stand his dad and quite frankly Ted didn't want to meet another.

_"Dad's are supposed to be special. They're supposed to love you and encourage you and help you when you're down,"_ Ted thought to himself. He'd believed that all his life and he knew how lucky he was already. His dad had a job and their family was still together after all these years. Was it the same for Matt? Surely it wasn't the same all over the world. He'd learned that by now.

And realizing that he really knew almost nothing about his new friend Ted's thirst for knowledge had him walking to the door of their hotel room, slipping his shoes back on and walking out into the hallway.

And there he stood for a few good minutes wondering whether or not to proceed with his half formed plan.

_"He's awake. I know he is. You're not an insomniac if you're asleep. Unless you take those pills but he doesn't look like the kind of guy who does that often,"_ Ted rambled to himself.

Ted glanced somewhat hesitantly to find no one in the halls and he rushed to the door beside his room.

He made a fist and was just about to knock gently when, as if on cue, the door swished open and Ted was left starting rather dumbly at the man before him.

Q looked just about ready to go out for a smoke as he had an unlit cigarette sticking out of his mouth and a lighter in one hand.

Ted quickly recovered from his shock and instead asked rather bluntly.

"Tell me what you know about vampires."

If Q was surprised he certainly didn't show it as he took his cigarette out of his mouth and ushered Ted back into the hallway.

"Thought your father was a teacher," Q observed quietly and Ted shrugged, "Yeah but we don't learn about vampires until like fifth year or something. Besides, he's not exactly here right now," he pointed out.

Q was silent as he turned to head down the hallway to the elevators

"What makes you think I know about vampires?" he asked, changing the question.

"Because you know everything," Ted replied as he hurried to catch up.

Q made a sound in the back of his throat in what Ted believed to be amusement.

The two were left in a rather comfortable silence as the elevator chimed its arrival and the two piled in.

"What do you want to know?" Q said at last, fiddling with his cigarette as the elevator reached the top floor of the hotel.

Ted for a second frowned before he decided to go with Helena's line: "Everything," he said with a nod as they left the elevator and mounted a small flight of stairs.

Ted didn't quite catch the look of amusement in the other man's eye but he had a feeling it had been there; small and fleeting, but there.

There was another small silence as Q fiddled with a door on the top floor before it opened and Ted was left staring at the roof of the hotel under the starry night sky.

For a second he couldn't help but stare in awe at the sight below them as he rushed to the fence surrounding the area and looked down to the cars and street lights below.

"Everything looks so small from here," Ted said mostly to himself and Q gave a quiet sound of agreement behind him.

As the duo stared in silence for a while Ted turned to find that Q had made himself comfortable on one of the benches nearby as he lay on his back with his arms pooled around his head and staring at the stars once more.

"So about vampires…." Ted repeated, moving away from the fence and sitting down next to the man.

Q's eyes moved to show Ted that he had his attention so Ted continued on.

"So um. Today I met someone. At the fair that is. He said his dad was a vampire," Ted mumbled awkwardly.

"Hrmm," was the only reply.

"And well. That got me thinking. We don't see a lot of vampires these days but I guess there have to be some out there right? Are they like what Muggles say they are? Like blood sucking and fangs and the undead and all that stuff?" Ted asked and he watched Q as a thoughtful look overtook his eyes.

"Vampires. Slightly younger than werewolves but faster race to die out," Q said, "Doubt that any pure vampires still exist," he added as an afterthought.

"Why not?" Ted asked and Q shrugged.

"Werewolves. Created by both genetics and infection. Vampires breed with own kind and still slim chance another vampire will be born. Over years. Many left magical roots. Not registered by your Ministry. Many do not know about magic and Muggles and what not. Go with their own codes and morals."

"So they're not the undead?" Ted asked before Q gave him a look that suggested that he was insane.

"Course not," the man muttered and Ted blushed in embarrassment. It was childish but Ted couldn't help but feel relief wash over him after he knew that vampires were born and not created.

"So when someone says they're a vampire now a days…."Ted started only for Q to interrupt.

"They are descendants of one. At best they show small characteristics."

"Like?"

Q shrugged, "Tiredness in natural sunlight, high immune system, high pain tolerance," Q paused at that with a frown, "Physical appearance. Reported as youthful even in old age and thin, sharp canines though not necessarily long…and some show desire for blood,"

"Desire for _blood_?" Ted said somewhat panicked at the notion and again Q shrugged. "More through upbringing than actual trait. Doubt English vampires still carry it."

"Why?" Ted asked.

"Don't know. Not my jurisdiction. Theory that English felt greater need to blend with society than those from other countries."

"So Mr. Jeevas is…." Ted started only for Q to interrupt.

"Normal. Just like your father."

"But how can you be sure? You've never met him," Ted said with a frown.

"Does he seem evil to you?" Q asked instead and Ted shook his head.

"No."

"Is he British?" Q asked again and Ted looked at the man confused."

"Yeah. I guess Jeevas is an English name. Why?"

"Then he's fine," Q went on much to Ted's confusion.

"Biggest traditional vampire families," Q continued, sticking up three fingers, "Bertinellis. Cassamentos. Leonellis," he listed, ticking them off as he went.

"They all sound Italian," Ted observed and a faint smile tugged at Q's lips.

"Bingo."

"Are they related?" Ted asked curiosity peaked only it seemed that Q had given enough answers for the night for he took out his cigarette and mumbled "In more ways than one."

Ted shrugged and figured it was his time to leave as Q settled down for a smoke. At least now he knew that Mr. Jeevas and his son weren't out for blood and that was all he really needed to know.

"Night Q. Thanks a lot," he said, stretching as he got out of his seat.

"And Helena's right. You shouldn't smoke so much," Ted called over his shoulder and he'd just managed to catch the amusingly bemused look the other man gave him before he turned to take the flight of stairs back down from the roof.

All in all it'd been a pretty good night.

* * *

I'm officially not going into science. Chem is ruining my life -_- Oh and computer science is probably not my thing either...

Anyways. I figured I needed to update SOMETHING or else people are going to start coming after me with pitchforks. You know it's bad when you actually get PMs begging you to update :P Sorry if you noticed grammar or spelling errors. It's either an update today or an update two weeks from now after I've finished fixing stuff (AKA. Right now, editing is a waste of time) :P

Cut this chapter short because the next one will be longer. You guys can enjoy this for a night while I put the finishing touches on the next chapter... and goes to study for my chem test...

Reviews appreciated!


	11. We Are One

"Left. Up. A bit more to the left."

"Hurry up this thing is heavy!" Ted complained as he held the sign in both hands and struggled not to tip over with it.

"Alright you can let go now," Matt called and Teddy, much to his relief finally let go.

He backed up a bit and stared at their handy work as Matt jumped down from his position on top of the wall.

"Looks nice," he said with a satisfied nod and Ted grinned back.

The past week had Teddy blissfully occupied. Every morning he and Matt cleaned up the theater in preparation for opening and Vic and Roy would go out to street perform.

They'd have lunch together before Matt and the boys would go their separate ways until the shows started. Then Ted would help Matt with the tickets and the food and all that other stuff that a theater was in charge of.

In the excitement of the fair and the work keeping him occupied, Ted found it quite easy to forget about any lingering thoughts in the back of his head as he got swept up in the moment.

And for the next few weeks he wrote to his mum, busied himself in some work and laughed with his friends. It was all nice and easy.

And it was around that time that the Hogwarts letters started to come in signaling the end of the summer break and the start of a new school year.

"Hey Ted!" Vic shouted and Ted looked round to find his friends running up the hill towards them.

"Looks like summer's almost over," Matt said as Vic quickly handed out the letters to everyone else.

The boys walked off to a patch of grass and rocks by the side of the theater before tearing apart their envelops.

Ted quickly skimmed his letters. Nothing really exciting. Just a list of school supplies paired with school rules and the calendar for the year but his head turned when Vic gave a low whistle.

"Look who made prefect," Vic said pointing to the current fifth year of the group.

Ted quickly turned to Matt was busy staring down at his hand in wonder as said hand clutched a prefects badge.

"Whoa! Congrats Matt!" Ted said happily as he leaned over to look at the badge some more.

It didn't look like much. A simple badge of gold and scarlet with the letter "P" adorned in its center. Still, Ted thought it looked pretty cool and he laughed at Matt's shell shocked expression over the small thing.

"Now you can use the prefect's bathroom and take away house points and give detentions and _everything," _Vic said before pausing with a thought, "I wish I was a prefect."

"So what? You can abuse your powers?" Matt teased and Vic nodded vigorously.

"Actually it says here that prefects can only deduct house points and give detentions to students of their own houses," Roy pointed out as it seemed he'd snatched up Matt's letters along the way.

"What? But that means we'd lose the Cup!" Vic protested and Roy shrugged.

"I guess being a prefect's all about deciding what's right and what's wrong," Ted pointed out as he took the letters Roy was holding to skim through them.

"Matt we're friends right? You wouldn't give us detentions would you?" Vic insisted and Matt laughed.

"I dunno. I'll have to think about that one," he said before everyone burst out laughing at Vic's shocked face.

"You wouldn't!" he accused and Roy patted him on the back.

"Tough luck Vic. Looks like you won't be able to get away with anything now," he said as the group sniggered at Vic's pout.

"Just you wait. I'll be a prefect and I'll put the whole lot of you in detentions," Vic shouted but Roy was one step ahead.

"I'm still in Slytherin and by the time you become prefect Matt would have graduated. That only leaves Ted."

"Fine! Ted! I'm putting you in detention!" Vic huffed, pointing an accusing finger at the boy.

"What did _I_ do?" Teddy protested feeling much like the innocent bystander.

"A lot of things!" Vic shouted back.

"Like?"

"Like…" Vic faltered, "Like…like a lot of things I haven't thought of yet," he finished and the rest of the group rolled their eyes mockingly at the boy.

"Alright. I'll go get lunch," Matt finally decided and Ted could tell that the real fact that he'd been accepted as a prefect seemed to have cheered him up considerably.

"What do you guys want? Pizza sound good?" he asked and the other boys nodded hungrily.

"Great. Be right back."

Ted and his friends watched the older boy go before turning back to talk amongst themselves.

"This means we need to go to Diagon Alley soon," Roy said waiving the letters before him.

"Yeah. Think your old man's up for it?" Vic asked as he crouched on top of a nearby rock.

"Yeah," Ted said with a nod, "He went home with mum a few days ago and he says he's fine. The people over at Mungo's prescribed him some stuff so he'll heal faster. Plus the Muggle medicine and mum says he'll be as good as new by the time school starts," he said happily.

"Awesome Ted," Vic said with a grin and Roy gave a nod of approval as well.

"We should be leaving in a few days anyways. I'll send an email. Maybe we can catch a ride with Q and Helena again. They said they'll be leaving in two or three days since Helena's got work soon," Ted said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. I figure Muggle school will be starting in a week or so too," Vic said with a sad sigh.

"Well. It was fun while it lasted," Ted said, lying down on the grass, mind flashing back to all the excitement over the summer break, "We should do this again next year."

"Hell Ted we're going to do this every year," Vic said with a grin, "We'll make sure of that."

Ted laughed, "Alright then. That's a promise right Roy?"

But the Slytherin boy stayed silent as he stared out towards the boundary of the theater grounds with a small frown on his face.

"What's the matter bro?" Vic asked, hopping down from the rocks to see what his brother was looking at.

Ted too got up off the ground to stare at a group of older boys at the edge of the property who seemed to be standing in a circle around something.

"Let's go check it out," Ted said and his friends nodded before rushing off towards the area.

As they got closer voices could be heard.

"Hey kid. What's in that letter eh?" someone sneered, "Clutching it to your chest like that's not going to stop us from taking it!"

"Now be a good little kid and hand it over. What's in it? Money?"

"Hey don't worry. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to know what's so special about that thing you're holding."

As Ted got closer he noticed a small boy sitting on the ground surrounded by the older boy's legs. He was clutching a letter to his chest and he looked ready to cry as the boys grabbed him and tried to wrestle the letter out of the smaller boy's hands.

"Oi! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Ted shouted, taking a stone from the ground and throwing it at the pack of bullies.

As the rock hit someone's head with an audible tick Ted grabbed for another one as Vic and Roy got ready for a fight behind him.

"Shit Ted. It's a Hogwarts letter," Vic mumbled behind him and Ted did a double take to the letter that the boy was still clutching. It distinctly had the red seal of Hogwarts stuck to its center. If Muggles got their hands on a Hogwarts acceptance letter the Ministry would certainly have some cleaning up to do and Ted didn't want that to start up again.

"No magic," Ted mumbled and Vic nodded not really having the time for argument as the bullies turned and made their way towards the trio.

"What do you want pipsqueaks?" One of the boys asked.

"Leave the kid alone," Ted repeated planting his feet firmly on the ground.

"Why should we? It's none of your business."

"It bloody hell is our business," Vic muttered and Ted nodded fueled by a protective rage, "We're part of the theater. You're on our property," he said glaring at the pack of bullies.

"Oh yeah well screw you."

"That the only insult you can think of?" Ted asked only to duck quickly as a fist came flying towards his face.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you it's not nice to hit people? It's supposed to show how immature you are," Ted scoffed as he backed up quickly from the gang.

"Pfft. You're not our parents," one of them muttered and Ted suddenly had an idea as his face broke out into a grin.

"Maybe not but I can try," he said to the wary bunch. What kid grins like a lunatic before he's about to be beaten up?

Quickly Ted quickly turned around and scrunched up his face, ignoring the confused looks by both enemies and friends.

"How's this?" Ted asked as he turned back to face the pair.

The older boy's took one look at Ted's face and gave a yelp of surprise. Ted had the exact same face as the bully who had spoken earlier.

"What the bloody hell! You creep. Get away from us!" one of the boys shouted

"No good?" Ted asked before turning around and screwing up his face once more.

"How about this one?" Ted asked rather pleased when the boys back peddled faster as his face took on the appearance of another one from the group.

Vic was laughing behind him and Ted couldn't help but grin and turn around once more.

"You like zombies?" Ted asked as his face took on the form of a movie like zombie complete with decayed skin and a glassed over expression.

The bullies ran.

"And don't come back!" Vic shouted after them.

Ted quickly reverted back to his regular face with a rather proud grin.

"Smooth one Mister Goodie Two-Shoes," Roy teased and Ted shrugged, "At least no one got hurt right?" he asked as he ran over to the boy still staring wide eyed at the trio.

"You ok?" Ted asked, extending to give the boy a hand and the kid quickly shook himself before taking the hand and standing up.

"What're you doing waving that thing around in a Muggle area? You're just asking to get mugged," Vic said with a frown but the boy seemed oblivious as he stared at Teddy with wide eyes.

"You're Theodore Lupin right?" the boy shouted excitedly jumping up and down slightly in anticipation.

Teddy looked surprised at the boy before sharing a confused look with Vic.

Now that the excitement had died down Ted got a good look at the boy. He was short and although Ted knew the boy was eleven judging from his letter he looked about nine at best.

The boy had a mop of messy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes which were fixed in awe at Ted.

"Uhh. Yeah," Ted said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Cool!" the boy shouted and Ted couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. What was so cool about him?

"I saw you in the newspaper last year! They say you've got really blue hair and that you're a metamorphagus and you stopped a werewolf attack when you were only eleven!"

Ted gave another awkward glance at Vic who shrugged with a small grin.

"News travels fast Ted. Good luck!" Vic said, dragging his brother off back to the rocks.

_"Bastard! You just can't just ditch me!"_ Ted thought frantically as Vic and Roy made their retreat.

"So. Is it true?" the boy asked eagerly and Ted turned his attention back to him.

"Uhh. Yeah bu-"

"That's so cool!" the boy interrupted before Ted could continue, "I bet you fought off those Death Eaters and everything! I got saved by Teddy Lupin! How cool is that?"

Ted had a feeling the boy was just talking to himself now and refrained from answering.

"Can I get your autograph?"

Ted blinked, "Uhh. Sure…?"

"I bet you took the whole hoard of them with some really powerful magic. Have all those enemies running you in fear. You can do wandless magic right? What am I talking about? Of course you can. Can you show me? Huh? Can you?"

Ted had a feeling his protests would fall on deaf ears so he remained silent not knowing whether to feel proud or embarrassed.

"Tomi?"

The boy stopped his small happy dance around Ted to look up in surprise.

"What're you doing here?"

Ted turned to the sound of the voice and found Matt standing just up the path looking rather shell-shocked at the small boy in front of them. He was casually carrying a pizza box that looked about to slip from his surprised fingers and spill onto the floor.

"Matt!" Tomi shouted, looking ecstatic as he ran over and hugged the older boy.

"Tomi! What're you doing here?" Matt repeated as he pushed the boy away a bit roughly.

"I…I wanted to see you" Tomi replied, looking down at his feet.

"Now?"

Tomi looked up in confusion, "Well yeah. Mom said she'd take me on holiday. She said I could go anywhere I wanted," he replied, voice soft as he looked up at Matt who only seemed to look even more shocked.

"You brought your _mom?_" Matt shouted as he took several steps back and looked around frantically as if expecting said woman to come marching up the hill towards him.

"Well. Yeah…."

"Are you crazy?"

"I didn't think- She doesn't know," Tomi argued.

"Which only makes it worse! You have any idea what would happen if she saw us?" Matt cried and Tomi flinched again.

"But-"

"I need to go," Matt mumbled and Tomi's head shot up.

"But! But I!"

But it was too late for Matt had run off back down the hill and round the bend out of sight.

"But I wanted to tell you I got accepted," Tomi said sadly to himself.

Ted watched the weird exchange of words between the two blondes as one ran off and the other starred sulkily at his shoes.

He figured he didn't really want to find out what was going on and decided on making a break to the rocks where Vic and Roy were.

He took a look at Tomi standing along several paces away and sighed.

"No need to get upset," Ted said as he made his way over to the boy and placing an arm on his shoulder, "If you want I can tell him."

Tomi didn't look too pleased with the idea but he nodded after a while, "Ok. Thank you Mr. Lupin."

"It's Teddy," Ted corrected, "Or just Ted if you want. I'm only one year older than you. No need for the Mr's."

Tomi gave a grin, "Alright then. Tell Matt I said bye? We'll probably be leaving tomorrow. We just stopped over so my mom could take a break from driving for a night."

"Sure. I'll tell him to send you a letter or something," Ted said regardless of the fact that he had no clue if Matt would be able to do such a thing.

Nevertheless it seemed to make Tomi happy as he eagerly nodded.

"My name's Tomi Kadokawa by the way," he added, "That's T-O-M-I. But Brits like to swap it for a double m and a y.

Teddy resisted the urge to ask a really stupid question and just shrugged.

"So what name do you like?" he asked instead.

"Umm. Well my friends call my TK and I like that," Tomi said with a considering look passing through his face.

"Well that makes life easier. Nice to meet you TK," Ted said sticking out a hand for prosperity's sake.

_"So we've got Q and TK. Any other letters of the alphabet I should be learning?"_

Regardless the two boys shook, happy to have made a new friend in each other.

"Tomi?"

Both boys jumped as they looked down the road. A middle aged Asian woman was making her way up the small hill to the theater and Tomi gave a happy smile.

"Over here mum!"

"Why on earth did you run off like that? Come on now. You said you wanted to ride the Ferris wheel right?" Tomi's mother replied and the boy nodded as she approached.

"I hope my son here hasn't been bothering you young man," she said in an apologetic tone as Tomi ran over to her.

Ted blushed, "No. He's fine. We had fun. I'm Theodore Lupin. It's very nice to meet you," he replied politely.

"And it was very nice to meet you," Tomi's mother replied with a warm smile, "But if you'd excuses us we must be going. Thank you for looking after Tomi," she finished as she turned and walked away, son in tow.

Tomi did a quick look over his shoulder and waved.

"Thanks a lot!" he shouted to Ted and Ted gave a grin as he waved back.

Soon the boy and his mother were out of sight and Ted sighed.

_"Well that was interesting….now where's Matt?"_

Ted made his way over to where Vic and Roy were still talking to themselves by the rocks at the edge of the theater complex.

"So? How'd it go?" Vic asked and Ted shrugged, "He's a good kid. Name's TK…..Have you seen Matt?" he added as an afterthought.

"No. How long does it take to get pizza?" Vic asked, standing on his rock and searching the area as if the older boy would suddenly appear.

And low and behold there he was, making a quick walk back up the hill and over to the boys.

"Sorry for the wait," Matt announced as he sat down on a nearby rock and opened up the pizza box.

"Got a little sidetracked," he muttered but Vic and Roy didn't seem to care as they made a beeline to the awaiting food.

Ted looked at his friends for a second before diving in as well, managing to claim two slices before it was all gone.

"Man I'm gonna miss summer break," Vic sighed as he sat back down, half his pizza already eaten.

Ted watched his friends with a smile before looking over at Matt who also seemed to be enjoying himself.

He figured questions could wait. Right now it was all about food and enjoying the last few days of summer break.

* * *

"So. About TK…." Ted started and Matt looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

It had taken Ted all day to finally get up the courage to ask Matt what had happened that afternoon with the boy by the hill.

Now they were currently in the theater lobby. The sounds and excitement from the show was in full swing and Ted and Matt really had nothing to do until the show was over.

"He's going to Hogwarts you know," Ted pointed out.

Matt froze, whipping his head around to stare at Ted with wide eyes.

"He's going to what?" he asked and Ted repeated.

"He's going to Hogwarts. That's why he wanted to see you. So he could tell you himself."

Matt was silent for so long that Ted felt like he ought to give the older boy a whack on the back to wake him up.

"You ok?" he asked instead and Matt shook himself before sitting down on a nearby stool.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Ecstatic even," he murmured and Ted could catch the little hint of awe in his voice.

"Why didn't you wait for him to tell you before your ran off?" Ted asked and Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Tomi and I…well…our parents don't really get along. If they see each other one would either go ballistic or just make things rude and awkward," Matt mumbled.

"Why don't your parents get along?" Ted asked, confused and Matt's face hardened.

"Because my dad's a vampire."

Ted paused, slightly shocked as his mouth only seemed to squeeze out a small, "Oh….I'm sorry."

Matt gave a choked laugh, "There's nothing to be sorry for. It's all my dad's fault anyways."

"What'd he do?"

Matt paused and his voice dropped down to a whisper.

"He loved her, married her and had two kids with her….and then she found out he was a vampire….."

Ted's mind quickly scrambled to make sense of that sentence and he didn't like the conclusion that it gave him.

"But that shouldn't matter. If they loved each other they'd stick together no matter what right?" Ted argued and Matt gave a bitter laugh.

"You know Ted. Sometimes I envy you," he said and Ted fidgeted nervously in his seat.

"Vampires aren't socially acceptable. They're a declining species and not many people know what they can accomplish. They take myths and legends as fact because there isn't a big enough population to study."

Ted remained silent as Matt went on.

"Mom was a businesswoman. She traveled all over the world and got good money. Dad was rarely ever allowed to work, people shunned him and it was just pathetic. When word got round that he had married a successful Japanese woman they hated him even more. People talked about us behind our backs, we had to move all over the place to avoid people."

Matt shrugged before continuing.

"I guess after a few years it started to wear Mum out. She couldn't live a successful life with a husband that kept dragging her down."

Matt sighed as he rocked himself back and forth on his stool.

"And then she found out _why _everyone hated him and she was furious. She couldn't believe he hadn't told her. She couldn't believe that he'd knowingly dragged us all into his problems without saying a word….."

Matt trailed off with a frown, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling of the theater.

"So one took the younger kid that had the least vampire traits and had a better chance at growing up somewhat _normal_. And the other takes the older kid that's already used to it all and doesn't mind travelling all over Britain to help host shows like this one."

Matt punctuated his last statement with a broad sweep of his arm, gesturing to the theater around them.

"Tomi was 4. I was 8," he added as an afterthought.

Silence reigned throughout the theater lobby interrupted by the muffled laughter past the show room doors.

"Are you mad at them?" Ted finally asked once he could no longer take the silence.

Matt frowned, "Not really. I guess. I can see why Mum wouldn't want to be with a guy that's lied to her for almost a decade…..but I can see why Dad would want to keep it a secret from her."

Matt got up and stretched with a yawn. Looking at the clock the show was due to end soon and the two boys should really get back to their stations before a hoard of people came pouring out asking for their jackets and souvenirs and what not.

"Tomi and I still write to each other and stuff. We send pictures and gifts for Christmas and birthdays. It could be worse really," Matt said with a shrug as Ted clambered off his seat to get ready.

"So. You're happy TK's going to Hogwarts with you right?" Ted said somewhat uncertainly. He'd thought he knew but it was safe to ask just in case.

Matt gave a rather faint smile to himself before turning to Ted.

"Of course I'm happy Ted," he said a bit exasperatedly.

"Our parents might be divorced and we might not share the same last name. But Tomi's still my little brother."

Ted grinned.

"Good," he said with a determined nod.

* * *

One teeny tiny mystery solved. A whole bunch of them to go.

And remember what I said about all the different kinds of kids/people a few chapters back? Well TK and Matt are one bunch. One more kid to go. Also note how I'm stealing names from all over the place :P

Why people stole the cloak has still yet to be solved. Probably won't be solved for a while...a very very long while...

Next chapter: Teddy finally goes back to Hogwarts. (It's about damn time too)


	12. Summer's Over

Maybe he'd take that back. He'd still have friends and family at school. And really, he couldn't wait to see what lay in store for them this year.

"Why's everyone gotta be tall, brown haired and white?" Vic grumbled as they pushed and shoved their way the crowded streets of downtown London.

Ted and Roy shot each other amused looks. Vic wasn't in the best moods. Twice he'd made a fool of himself by shouting "Proffessor!"and "Found ya!" to some poor unsuspecting victim that just happened to be tall, brown haired and well, white.

The boys had finally made it back to London with Q and Helena after an adventurous three weeks at the Fair. Now all they needed to do was find Ted's parents and say some final farewells. They'd chosen to met in Muggle London because Helena insisted that they should accompany the boys until they were safe; the teacher in her unwilling to let three underage boys roam free in the big city. Not to mention Ted's own mum wanted to personally thank the Muggle couple for keeping an eye on the boys while they were away.

Ted himself was feeling pretty good and he could only imagine that his friends felt the same. Vic had gotten a tan over the last few days from all his time out in the sun. He'd had plenty of time and space to let loose all his energy which would be good for when school started. Roy too seemed pleased. He'd gotten in ample practice time on his trumpet and was able to play almost anything by ear after only a few times of listening to it. Mr. Jeevas had given them all a generous and well deserved pay check which Ted had initially declined but the theater owner had insisted.

For now the small bag of galleons was left uncounted and nestled in the corner of Ted's trunk while Vic and Roy were anxious to deposit their earnings in their Gringotts vault.

"Ok. Next time you see someone. Just point and ask," Roy muttered as he scanned the area looking for Ted's parents.

Ted snickered. A few mintues ago Vic had just hugged some poor unsuspecting man silly before he realized that said man was defiantly not Teddy's father. Vic had stammered and blushed in embarrassment before Ted and Roy swooped in and saved the day by dragging him off with equally profound apologies.

Q and Helena lagged in the back and /ted made a quick check over his shoulder to make sure they were still following.

"Ugh your parents need a cellphone Ted," Vic mumbled and Ted shrugged.

"Well they said to meet at Timothy's café," he pointed out only for Vic to sigh exasperatedly.

"Do you know where that is?" he asked.

"No."

"Do your parents know you don't know?"

"No."

Vic gave him a raised eyebrow and Ted grinned back, "But I do know someone that does."

"How much further?" he asked to the man behind him. Q was helping Ted carry his trunk since he seemed much more apt to do it than Ted who would probably trip over it and kill himself.

"Just up the street," Q replied with a vague wave in front of him.

Ted give Vic a "so there!" look before jogging slightly and catching up to Roy in front of them.

Ted couldn't wait to see his parents. Sure the three weeks of independence were great but now that it was over Ted missed having his parents along. He hoped his dad was alright, he hadn't seen him upright and walking for what felt like ages. He also hoped his mum had managed to catch those bastards that had attacked their house.

But those were questions for another time as Vic gave an happy shout at having spotted the café.

Ted, abandoning all caution, made an excited dash for the door and burst through it much to several people's surprise.

Remus had been in the middle of enjoying his tea before he heard a whoop of delight and a blur practically knocked the air from his lungs.

"Hello to you too," Remus laughed, patting his son's back in greeting.

"Now you might want to change that hair color back," Remus murmured to the boy in his arms and Ted blushed.

With some mild determination his hair reverted back to its natural brown and he straighted.

"What no hug for me?" Tonks asked from across the table and Ted laughed as he ran over to hug his mother too.

"Hey professor!" Vic said happily as he bounded through the area and came to a skidding halt before Remus.

"Hello boys. How was the Fair?" Remus asked and Vic's eyes bugged as he launched into an epic tale of their time.

"Hey!" Ted interrupted, "You can't tell them I wanna tell them!"

"What? You can tell them later! He asked me!" Vic argued.

As the boys bickered Roy rolled his eyes and gave Remus a "why'd you have to ask that?" look but Remus just shrugged and patted the seat next to him.

As Roy got himself comfortable and Ted and Vic battled it out, Q and Helena had silently managed to slip into the café and deposit Ted's trunk at the foot of the table.

"Helena Rodor," Helena said with a smile as she gave Ted's mum a firm handshake.

"Nymphadora Lupin," Tonks replied and Ted was shocked. Never before had he heard his mother willingly give her first name to a stranger before.

"But just call me Tonks," Tonks added, "sit down sit down can we get you anything?"

Helena sat but declined anything to eat as she dragged her socially awkward husband over to the table as well.

"You might have already met but this is my husband," Helena said and Q mumbled a hello before slipping away.

"I apologize in advance," Helena whispered as an afterthought and Tonks laughed.

"Oh no. Mine is much more of a hassle," Tonks replied, leaning over and giving Remus a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes I can imagine a hassle but surely he can't be worse than mine," Helena teased.

Ted rolled his eyes. They were doing the women's talk again and he quickly tuned them out instead focusing on his father as he waited for his turn to tell a story.

His dad looked much better than he'd left him three months before. His smile contained a warmth that Ted loved and his eyes were lively and pleased. Ted had a feeling underneath the clothes he'd be able to see the damage the bullets had done but right now his father looked younger than ever.

It was a wonder what Muggle medicine and magic could do. Maybe Muggles and wizards were more made for each other than people thought.

"How're the stitches?" Q mumbled to Remus as he sat down at the table and passed along a drink to his wife.

Remus shrugged, "I got used to them after a while. I'll be visiting your house again in a few weeks to get them removed."

Q nodded before leaning back and taking a chug out of his beer.

Remus was briefly aware that Roy had interrupted Vic's storytelling by dragging him off to get a drink from the front bar leaning the grownups to talk in peace. To be quite honest after the initial pain was dealt with the stitches hadn't really bothered him. There had been the short times when lying down had caused his breathing to hitch in pain but the doctors had given him some drugs to deal with it and once Tonks had taken him to Mungo's and he'd been prescribed with some potions the pain had stopped altogether. His shoulder also throbbed whenever he moved his arm but the pain was tolerable and three weeks later Remus was more than used to it. The only times anything really hurt now was when he lay on his chest or someone smacked him.

"I want to thank you for taking care of Ted and I," Remus started but Q shook his head to stop him from continuing.

"It's fine," the younger man mumbled but Remus wasn't done, something was bothering him.

"Out of curiosity though why did you do it?" Remus asked.

There was a pause as Q stared down at his beer.

"Interested," came the answer and Remus raised an eyebrow, "In me being…what I am?"he asked.

He guessed it would be pretty interesting to find a magic boy and a werewolf while doing some shopping in town.

"Yes. That," Q said with a small frown, "But also something else," he continued and Remus waited patiently for the other man to continue, "Your boy. Ted. He'd stand in front of a gun for you. Interested. Wanted to know if what I was seeing was real. Wanted to know why."

Remus turned this around in his head a bit. He felt an insane amount of pride and anguish explode from his chest at the thought of Ted taking a bullet for him. Pride in his son's bravery and love for him and anguish at the mere thought of it all.

"Sorry. Probably didn't make a lot of sense," Q mumbled a bit sheepishly, "Helena always said I never had a great grip on reality."

"You know it baby doll," Helena interrupted, giving her husband a kiss. She whispered something in his ear before turning back to her conversation with Tonks.

Q blinked several times once his wife had readjusted her attention before his face turned beet red and he took a chug of his beer to cover it up. Remus refrained from laughing. This man kind of reminded him a bit of himself when he was younger.

"Well? Did you find out?" Remus asked as Q finished his beer.

Q had a thoughtful look on his face as the two men turned to watch Ted and his friends chat with the bartender at the front of the café.

"Relates to love and family. Subjects that go beyond my scope of knowledge," the man answered finally and Remus shrugged.

"It's not that hard to understand. Sometimes the easiest solutions are best."

Q frowned.

"Do you have any plans for him?" the man asked instead.

Remus took a glance at Ted, happily slurping away a milkshake and chatting with his friends.

"Not really. Encourage him. Support him and make sure he doesn't crack his head open doing something stupid," Remus replied with a grin.

"Hrrmm," Q said, looking over at the boys as well.

"You're a good father," he finally concluded and Remus felt a fond smile grow on his face

"He's a good son."

While Remus and Q talked with each other their wives were having a discussion of their own.

Twelve years ago if anyone had told Tonks she'd be chatting about children and husbands and other solely feminine things she'd have hexed them right there. But now here she was with a younger woman beside her and a husband and son across from her.

"Q seems a bit…."

"Eccentric?" Helena teased and Tonks shrugged.

"It's not a reprimand," she replied with a smile, "Thank you for looking after Teddy by the way. I hope he wasn't much trouble."

"Oh it was no trouble at all. I needed a vacation anyways. Ted's a very good boy wish I had a kid like him."

"Well it's not too late," Tonks replied slyly causing Helena to laugh. Any onlooker would have thought the two had known each other for years. There just seemed to be some connection between the two women. Perhaps it was because they both had very complicated husbands and really, they were still about the same age.

"Q doesn't want children. He's not comfortable with them," Helena replied.

"Well he seemed to have done fine with Ted," Tonks replied. Every email he had gotten from Ted always said something positive about the couple.

Helena shrugged in response, "Q's not comfortable with a lot of things, he's a paranoid conspiracy theorist that knows way too much and it freaks the hell outta me-"

"But…?" Tonks prodded and Helena gave a smirk. These women knew each other well.

"But he cares even though he doesn't show it and he's sweet even when he doesn't want to be. He goes out of his way to help others and I love him," Helena finished and Tonks gave a mock encore.

"Looks like you've got a keeper," she teased and Helena blushed.

"What about yours?" Helena asked.

"Remus? He's definitely a keeper."

"Well obviously. Any specific reason why?"

Tonks paused before a smile broke out on her face.

"He's a charmer. He treats me like a lady and he's nice to everybody. Even those bastards that look down on him because of what he is. That takes courage you know. When we met he didn't have money but he's got the brains and he can handle himself in any duel. He protects what's important to him and he's an amazing father. Really it's the same reasons as you," Tonks said with a sidelong glance at her husband.

"He's better than an 'amazing' father. Ted's going to grow up to be a fine kid and heck I teach kids. I don't say that a lot," Helena laughed.

Tonks grinned and looked over affectionately at her two boys. One talking with Q and the other making his way back to the table.

"They're a lot of work," she agreed and Helena nodded looking at her own husband.

"But they're worth it."

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Tonks and Helena had kept in touch with emails and letters while Q had almost completely dropped off the map. Teddy was relieved to see his house was completely back to normal. He and his friends had distracted themselves so that by the time the week had passed they'd totally forgotten that the house they lived in had been broken into a month before.

Before they knew it. There was only a weekend separating their summer from the first day of school.

Just in time to buy school supplies.

"Ready to go?" Remus asked as Teddy and his friends bounded down the stairs.

"To Diagon!" Vic shouted and Roy whacked him on the head to quiet him down.

They all filled into the Floo and reappeared in the Leaky Cauldron.

It was early morning but the district was still buzzing with activity as people rushed around gathering school supplies for their children or other necessities for home.

"Should we get robes first? They'll take the longest so might as well get them over with," Tonks said as they entered Diagon Alley.

"I think we should split up. I can take Roy to Flourish and Blotts and pick up all the textbooks while you have Ted and Vic's robes fitted," Remus said and Tonks nodded.

"You boys alright with that?"

"Hey if it means getting to Mrs. Weasley's house faster then let's do it," Ted said with a grin. They had been invited to spend the weekend with the Weasley's for a final farewell before the boys got shipped off to school. It would be the first time anyone had seem them since Harry's birthday party and Ted was eager to tell Victoire of his adventures.

Roy and Vic gave equal nods and Remus led Roy over to the textbooks store while Tonks led the two larger boys over to Madam Malkin's.

"When you get to be the same size as your brother, shopping's going to take so much longer," Remus grinned and Roy sighed.

"It still sucks," he grumbled, "I'm barely up to your chest….and I'm older than them!"

"Don't worry. You'll grow. I might have been shorter than you when I was your age," Remus said with a pat on the back as they approached the store.

Roy gave him a look that clearly doubted such a fact from a man that was about four heads taller than him.

Nevertheless he didn't voice these thoughts and Remus changed the conversation by asking for the booklist. They had a long day ahead of them.

* * *

It took a good few hours for the boys to get all the supplies they needed plus more. Ted and Vic got a whole bunch of stuff from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and Remus bought Roy some science books that he thought might interest the boy. Not to mention there was the candy from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop and the supplies for Fuzz, Ted's pet Puffskein. By the time they passed by Broomstix the boys, carrying their own ice creams didn't feel like asking for their own brooms.

Second graders were allowed their own brooms now but Ted didn't want to ask his parents to dish out even more money for them. After all they'd just had an all expense paid visit to the Fair and they were sure they could lend a few school brooms anyways.

The three boys had all been on the Quidditch team last year. Vic and Roy were official Seekers while Ted had been benchwarmer. It hadn't been all that exciting. Vic complained that there were too many rules which hindered his flying experience and Ted just got bored of it after a while. He'd joked that he'd gotten his dad's genes in the "indifference to Quidditch" category.

Either way all the boys much preferred to play his own relaxed game of Quidditch with friends and family because really, Roy only played because his brother wanted him to.

So. Walking by the broomsticks store without so much as a glance, Vic ran ahead babbling nonsense as Ted walked beside his father feeling rather pleased with how the day was going.

"Hey Ted!" Victoire shouted from upstairs and Ted grinned as Molly Weasley rushed out from the kitchen to give her guests a hug.

"Goodness look how much you've grown!You'll be my height in a few years!" Mrs. Weasley said, giving Teddy a fierce hug as Roy and Vic silently backed up again the closed door.

"Hello Auntie Molly," Ted said politely and Mrs. Weasley beamed at him before turning to Remus.

"And you Remus," she said almost scolding the poor man, "Shot by a bullet? I never! You wouldn't believe the state I was in when Harry told me about it. Bloody awful Muggles are," Molly said.

"Well actually it was also Muggles who saved me," Remus pointed out as the grownups made their way back to the kitchen.

Ted rolled his eyes. Why grownups loved talking in the kitchen he'd never know.

"Come on," he whispered to his friends and they quickly ran up the stairs to join up with Victoire and the rest of the family.

"So Remus tell us all about it," Arthur Weasley said in a rather serious tone and Remus refrained from rolling his eyes.

Having found a nice spot in the kitchen Arthur had practically kidnapped Remus and forced him to sit down with George and Ron at the table.

Arthur loved Muggles and their behaviors and technology. Still, it made Remus feel uncomfortable; like he was a lab rat just waiting to be dissected.

"There's really nothing much to say,"

"Other than the fact your house got broken into by _Muggles," George piped up, _"And you got shot and in the middle of a_ Muggle_ town and you were lucky enough that you were spotted by some doctors-,"

"_Muggle_ doctors," Ron interrupted.

"Right _Muggle_ doctors and you were treated using _Muggle_ medicine. You think that's not going to interest him at all?" George asked with a grin as he pointed to his father.

Remus sighed in defeat. When you put it like that….

"See Remus. Even though the news never made it to the papers we've got you pinned," Arthur said with a grin.

"It really wasn't much. Their drugs are a bit stronger but I guess that's a good thing. And instead of drinking it they send it straight through your system with these tubes and stuff," Remus said with a shrug.

"How do they monitor your condition without diagnostic spells?" Arthur asked, intrigued.

"They've got sensors and monitors and stuff…you know. Machines. They'll stick these adhesive things all over your chest and you can see your heartbeat on a little machine. It's like a green line that goes up and down," Remus paused feeling uncomfortable from the Weasley's stare.

"So yeah. They can check your iron count and your blood and almost everything. I wasn't really paying attention," Remus said feeling that that was an acceptable excuse.

"And about the blood?" Arthur pressed.

"What about the blood?"

"Where's it coming from. Do they have blood replenishing potions as well?"

"Merlin no, they feed blood to you through those tubes again. The blood's from people all over the world who donated."

"People donate their own blood…" Arthur said incredulously.

"Well. Not all of it," Remus pointed out, "Just a bit. And it lots of people donate then that's enough."

"So wait," Ron interrupted, "You're walking around with someone else's _blood running through your veins?"_

"Well," Remus paused, "Yeah I guess…..It's not generally as weird as it sounds," he added.

"Well it sounds pretty bloody weird to me," Ron mumbled.

Arthur on the other hand was fascinated.

"And how're the stitches?" he asked.

Remus shrugged, "They're alright. They'll be out before the next full moon."

"May I see them?"

Remus positively gapped at him and threw a pleading look to Tonks and Molly by the stove who were having conversations of their own.

Tonks only smiled back at him, oblivious to his dilemma.

"Didn't you get stitches yourself?" Remus asked instead and Arthur nodded.

"Yes but you see I wasn't the most practiced with them and Molly threw a fit. It'd be nice to see what an experienced Muggle does with them. Speaking of which. Why didn't Tonks object so much to your treatment?"

Remus paused to think about that before Tonks spoke up from the stove.

"It's either a stitched up werewolf or a dead werewolf," she started, making her way towards the group at the table.

"And quite frankly I preferred the first option," she finished, giving Remus a kiss as he blushed awkwardly.

"Well that sounds about right," Arthur nodded and Remus was almost relieved that the subject had been changed….

"Now about those stitches…"

Remus fought a groan and tossed another pleading look over to Tonks.

She smiled back at him and gave him another kiss instead.

"You're on your own Lupin," she whispered with a seductive voice and laughed at the horrified look he gave her.

* * *

"So wait. You opened the door without even checking who it was?" Victoire asked and Ted looked down at his lap, ashamed.

Victoire had cornered Ted and his friends as soon as they'd gone up the stairs.

She'd pushed them into one of the many bedrooms and insisted that Ted tell everyone exactly what happened.

Roy and Vic were interested too. They'd only heard a summarized version of it through Ted's email and they'd been too busy with the fair to bother asking.

"I thought it was mum," Ted replied meekly.

"Why would your mum use the front door?"

"Look I don't know! It was late and I wasn't thinking right ok?" Ted shouted.

"Ok. We got it. Just continue with the story," Vic said, hoping to establish peace so that the rest of the story could be heard.

"So yeah. We had a bit of a fight and then the guy drops something. It's like this tooth with a tiny little emblem on it."

"What kind of tooth?" Roy interrupted and Ted shrugged.

"I dunno. Sharp but thin. It was kinda small but there was something scratched onto it. I didn't really get to see what it was. Why? Remind you of something?" he asked and Roy shook his head.

"No but it might with some research."

Ted nodded before continuing on with his story. Victoire seemed rather fascinated at the prospect of Q who she regarded as some sort of knight in shining armor.

"Come on Ted. Secretive guy, no name, carries a gun around, knows about magic? That's like the most amazing fairy tale ever!" Victoire said excitedly but Roy seemed to pick out something else.

"Backtrack. You said you were angry at the people holding you down and then suddenly you managed to push them away?" Roy asked and Ted rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yeah. It's wandless, non verbal magic I know. I've been thinking about it myself. It's happened before. When I got really upset or angry or something my parents said I'd have random bursts of magic when I was really little."

"Seriously?" Vic said, suddenly interested.

"Yeah. My uncle Sirius says it's because both my parents are really good at magic," Ted said with a shrug, "Still. It hasn't happened since I was a kid and that's normal since babies can't control their magic."

"Then how come all kids can't do it?" Vic asked and Ted shrugged.

"How should I know? Maybe once we start becoming more aware of who we are and what magic is, we start controlling our magic better. Now continuing with the story," Ted stressed impatiently.

Everyone else shut up for a bit as Ted talked about the Rodors and eventually he reached the part where Q had taken he and Vic back to his house.

"Which reminds me. We met Neville there. He said he might become a teacher since he says the whole Auror business isn't really his thing," Teddy added.

"Cool. Maybe he'll be my teacher when I go to Hogwarts!" Victoire said, bouncing up and down a bit in excitement. She liked Neville. Whenever he came over he was nice to her and treated her like a lady. He even gave her little treats just to please her and Victoire liked the thought of Neville being her teacher in a few years.

"So yeah. Then we went to the Fair-"

"And now it's my turn to tell the story!" Vic interrupted and Ted opened his mouth to argue before sighing and giving a resigned shrug. He'd done enough talking.

"But wait!" Victoire said, "What'd the Muggles steal?"

And Teddy suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach.

"Oh shit," he muttered, "They took the cloak."

"The cloak?" Victoire asked and Teddy nodded.

"At the beginning of summer Harry lent me his invisibility cloak and they stole it. Shit. I totally forgot about it. I have to tell Harry," Ted said, groaning as he lay down on the bed.

"What would Muggles want with an invisibility cloak?" Victoire asked and Ted shrugged.

"I dunno. To steal something? There's so much stuff Muggles could do with invisibility," he muttered.

"Are you going to tell Harry?" Victoire asked and Ted groaned again.

"I have to. It'd explain so much. I totally forgot about it. I told my dad a while ago but I don't think he's told anyone yet," Ted said and he got off his bed. He might as well get over it.

"We're coming too!" Vic said, getting off the bed and Roy gave Victoire a hand up.

Together the four children spend through the house and popped their head into the kitchen.

"Where'd everyone go?" Vic asked and Hermione and Ginny looked up from their position at the table.

"If you're looking for your parents they just went upstairs to the master bed room," Hermione told them and the group thanked her before hustling out.

"Come now Remus. I just want some pictures. I'll do greatly for my research."

"What research could you possibly be doing Arthur?"

As Remus' rather uneasy voice penetrated through the closed bedroom door Teddy paused in his opening of the door to glance curiously at his friends.

"Goodness Remus. How is it that even after a whole decade you still haven't managed to gain a single pound?"

"Not now Molly."

Vic gave a shrug before reaching over and opening the door himself.

The kids peered anxiously into the room.

Molly was standing by the side of the door staring disapprovingly at the scene before them.

Tonks and Harry were busy laughing in the corner as George and Ron seemed to be in the process of forcefully ripping off poor Remus' shirt.

"Just a picture now. Really it'll be fine," Arthur repeated from his position by the bed as if the whole scene was entirely normal.

"Arthur. I believe there is a Muggle condition called obsessive compulsive. You might want to look into it," Remus growled as he tried to struggle out of the Weasley's grasp but they had him pinned.

And that was when someone noticed that the room wasn't as private as they thought it was.

Teddy burned with embarrassment as all seven pairs of eyes turned slowly to him and his friends.

"So," Vic said, breaking the suddenly tense silence, "is this where someone stutters 'uhh. We can explain'?"

Roy dug an elbow into his brother's side but Tonks took this as a perfect opportunity. With a flick of her wand at her husband his shirt seemed to magically disappear and the room was roaring with activity once more.

"Dora!"

"Whoa!"

"Yes that's right. Perfect angle. By Merlin's beard Molly look at the work on that one!"

"What am I a trophy case?" Remus shouted and Tonks dissolved into peals of laughter once more.

Teddy and his friends gave each other a wry grin before rushing to the bed and tackling the poor werewolf down once more.

"Teddy?" Remus said, feeling the weight of his son gently on his stomach as Vic and Roy grabbed both arms.

"What? I want to see too," Teddy said with a pout.

"There's really nothing to see," Remus told him but Teddy ignored him. Instead he carefully undid the bandage over his father's chest with a somewhat child like need to explore and discover.

When the gauze was slowly stripped away Ted was left looking at a large, stitched line that ran down his father's chest.

"Why's it so big?" Ted asked, frowning slightly. He always thought bullets were small.

"Well they had make it big so they could get to it," Remus said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Does it hurt?" Teddy asked instead, running his finger down the line. The stitching looked neat and tidy. There wasn't any blood to Teddy's relief; just wire and a big, red, jagged line.

"It doesn't hurt," Remus said, wondering why Teddy seemed to care so much.

"You'll get better right?"

Remus paused, noticing the little pleading note his son's voice had taken. He looked into Ted's eyes and found what he was looking for: guilt, shame and a small hint of fear and worry.

He sighed before forcing his arms out of their confinement and sitting up.

"It wasn't your fault Teddy. There's no need to worry," Remus said seriously but Teddy's face took on a sad look as he hugged his father.

One hand traced the stitching on his father's shoulder as he muttered, "It still feels like it."

"He gets this from you you know," Tonks scolded, deciding to join in and Remus gave her a wry grin.

"Now no mopping around like your father. You've got two days until school starts and we're going to make the most of it," Tonks told her son who smiled.

"Now wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

Ted's smile vanished.

"Well. Not all of you. More just Harry…and maybe you mum," Ted said nervously.

"Is this about the Cloak?" Harry interrupted and all eyes turned their attention to the Head of Aurors still in the corner.

"How did you-?" Teddy said before throwing a look at his father.

"You told them already?"

Remus shrugged in confirmation.

"And you're not angry?" Ted asked and Harry took a seat at the bed.

"Why would I be angry?" Harry asked and Ted shrugged.

"Well- Well I lost a family heirloom. Something you got from your dad," Ted said quietly.

"Yes but I _didn't lose a godson and a very good friend of mine," Harry pointed out, "and I think my old man would have preferred it that way too," he finished with a smile._

Teddy looked at his godfather with a strange sense of awe. He still felt guilty, he didn't think he'd ever stop but at least he had his parent's and godparent's forgiveness.

"Plus it makes me feel like it's my fault," Harry said with a frown, "If I hadn't given you the cloak you would have been clean out of the way."

"It's not your fault," Teddy told him. After all it was_ him who'd begged to use it._

"Still. What would Muggles want with an Invisibility Cloak?" Victoire asked from the door.

Harry shrugged, "We've been doing some digging. There's a possibility that they're Muggles for hire and someone told them to steal the Cloak….someone magical that is."

"But still. What's so special about the Cloak?" Victoire pressed and Harry smiled fondly.

"Well. This is a good time as any for a story," he mused as he patted the bed for Victoire to come by and perch at the edge.

"Legend has it that the Cloak's one of the Deathly Hallows. Along with the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone they're all three very powerful magical objects created by Death himself," Harry started and Victoire frowned.

"That's dumb. Death isn't a person. It's a…a thing," she pointed out and Harry nodded.

"Yes well remember it's just a legend."

"But it's true," Vic interrupted from the bed, "That's how everyone says you beat Voldemort," he pointed out and Harry shrugged.

"Well. Even _I'm not sure how I beat Voldemort," he joked._

"But didn't you become the Master of Death? The person who managed to possess the three artifact thingies?"

Harry laughed, "I see someone likes to read the paper."

Vic blushed, "Yeah well, blame him," Vic said, indicating Roy who was sitting up against the headboard of the bed, fiddling with his Rubik's Cube.

"Yes well. The truth is I never became the Master of Death. By the time I'd gained control of the Elder Wand I'd already dropped the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest."

"You _dropped it in the Forest?" Vic exclaimed looking at Harry like he was crazy._

"Yes. I'd thought I was going off to die. I wouldn't need it again and I doubted anyone else after me would," Harry replied.

"So in a nutshell the Deathly Hallows didn't help you at all with your match against Voldemort," Teddy finally interrupted.

Harry paused to gaze thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"Well the Cloak helped us all lots throughout the years and the Stone revived my parents. They gave me strength and courage that helped me a lot during the battle. I don't think I would have managed it all if it wasn't for their encouragement," Harry said rather wistfully.

"And the Wand?" Ted asked again only for Harry to shrug.

"To me the point of the wand was to obtain it but not use it. Dumbledore believed that if the wand was used for good it'd eventually become attached to those of good instead of evil. I figured that if the owner of the wand were to die of natural causes then the whole chain would just stop."

"I don't think it works like that," Roy suddenly interrupted causing all the occupants in the room to look at him.

"The wand's been a part of history for generations. I'm sure at least once someone's lost it or died of natural causes. There has to be something that keeps the chain going."

"Like maybe after a while the wand picks a new owner?" Teddy asked Roy who only shrugged.

"Who knows?" the boy muttered.

"Whatever the case," Harry interrupted holding up a hand, "I put it in a place that no one will ever find so that should be the end of it."

Ted frowned. Whenever the grownups said "that should be the end of it" that was always never the case but what should he know?

"So you're not a Master of Death?" Victoire asked and Harry laughed.

"Nope. Sorry. I don't think there's ever been a Master of Death," Harry told her.

Ted grinned at Victoire's disappointed look. It was for the best really. Who knew what a Master of Death would be able to accomplish? For Ted, who was still squeamish around blood, he didn't think it was profession he'd get into any time soon.

"So. To come full circle. Professor Lupin's going to be ok. Harry Potter isn't the Master of Death. The Elder Wand is who knows where. The Ressurection Stone is somewhere in the Forbidden Forest never to be seen again. The invisibility Cloak is missing and everyone's blaming themselves. What is this a guilt fest?" Vic suddenly exclaimed out loud and everyone turned back to the boy on the bed.

"Come on Ted. We've got like a hundred things to do. School's starting in two days!" Vic exclaimed, grabbing Teddy and hauling him off the bed.

"We've got food to eat and Quidditch to play. Come on Victoire," Vic said eagerly as he dragged his friends out the door.

"See you later professor," Roy said as he too hustled out.

Remus smiled faintly as the kids ran out of the room before his face turned into a frown and he lay back down on the bed.

There was a short silence as he looked up at the ceiling for a while, fully aware that all the remaining people in the room were staring at him.

"We're not doing that again," he muttered.

"Oh come now Remus. We went to the beach just two years ago," Molly said as Tonks helped her husband reapply his bandages.

"And we're all practically family. I bet the brothers think of you more as a father than a teacher," Arthur pointed out and Remus sighed.

"Still. Never again."

* * *

The next two days passed smoothly. Vic amazed the younger children with his flying abilities and Roy was nagged constantly to show off his own abilities although every attempt was unsuccessful.

The boy much preferred to play with his Rubik's cube on the backyard patio and watch his friends and brother chase themselves silly.

They'd played Quidditch, soccer, tag, hide and seek. They helped Molly bake and listened intently to George's stories about his own Hogwarts days. The days were short and the nights even shorter and by the time it was over they'd tried rather unsuccessfully to do anything and everything.

Several times Teddy caught Roy teaching a fascinated Arthur Weasley about his Gameboy which he'd received for Christmas last year. It'd been charmed to work everywhere, technological restricting magic be damned, and Ted and Vic laughed when Mr. Weasley snatched it up to show to his wife with the most amazed voice a grownup could manage.

Roy was also spending a lot of time with the introverted Victoire, showing her science books and his trumpet. Vic was already starting to make jokes that the two were a couple earning a blush from Victoire and a smack on the head from his brother.

Really though Ted was just happy to have his friends and family around with him and when the day finally came and he found himself boarding the Hogwarts Express he wished that summer had never ended.

"Well that's that," Vic said with a sigh as the train rounded the bend and they'd all gotten themselves settled.

"Now I can't wait to get to Hogwarts," he said, bouncing up and down in his seat slightly.

Ted grinned.

Maybe he'd take that back. He'd still have friends and family at school. And really, he couldn't wait to see what lay in store for them this year.

* * *

Longest, fluffiest frickin chapter ever o.0 But hey they're finally back to school. :P

If you've made it this far I need your help! I need a name. Full name. Last name. Good for a teacher *nudge nudge wink wink* XD

So. Make a review with a name or names that you like. The best name will be used in the next chapter and for the rest of the story.

PS: since all my names are taken from other forms of media I'll pay more attention to those that do the same but post where the name is from (eg: if the name is from an anime. Post the anime as well.)


	13. Like Casablanca

Sorry for the late updates. The problem with writing a yearly fic is that I need to fill in the time gaps with fluff in between and even fluff takes time (which I currently lack) :(

Also, formatting messed up last chapter. First paragraph or so is supposed to be the last paragraph (no clue how that happened). Sorry if it was confusing.

This chapter is dedicated to **Veronique Ruthven **for giving me an awesome anime reference name :)

* * *

Old was not something Severus Snape had thought he would feel in his lifetime. He had expected his life to be over before forty and he surely did not think that he would be around for very long after the War.

But. To his surprise and frustration "old" was definitely a word now used frequently in his repertoire and as he huffed and puffed his way from the dungeons up to the blasted Defense Tower on the other side of Hogwarts he was starting to hate it more and more.

He didn't like the feeling of being old. Granted he was turning fifty next January and fifty was definitely over the hill but he had never thought being old meant unfit and more importantly unable. The whole "old" business had seemed to creep up on him quite suddenly leaving him at a loss of what to do.

Still, he mused that perhaps he didn't have it too bad. Having reached the Defense Tower with mild huffing and puffing a small part of his brain congratulated himself for having reached such an age record.

After all it could be worse. He could be dead first of all. Or he could be sickly and weak, without even the strength to stand but here he was. Huffing and puffing was acceptable in his opinion. Besides, one was only as old as one felt and Snape, as much as he would never admit it, felt pretty good.

He frowned, forget old, he was getting senile.

"Lupin?" he called, knocking on the door to the werewolf's office.

There was no reply and Snape could only assume that the man wasn't there yet. He sighed and let himself in. He had other things to do than to wait around for someone that wasn't even guaranteed to show.

The students would start filing in through the doors in a few hours and Snape wished nothing more than to go back to his dungeons and re-establish himself in his surroundings from a summer long absence….at least until Minerva came and dragged him out to meet the new batch of students.

Snape frowned again at this thought. He would admit that he liked Hogwarts but most certainly not because of the grubby, spoiled little brats that he was about to teach for the next eight years.

Maybe he should stay here for a while. Lupin was easier to deal with than an irate Headmistress. Besides, the trek all the way back down to the dungeons seemed like a hard and difficult one in Snape's eyes…not that he'd ever admit it.

Speaking of Lupin where the bloody hell was that man? He'd already missed this morning's staff meeting along with several others scattered throughout the summer due to…injuries…. It wouldn't have bothered Snape if it wasn't for the fact that he was left in charge of filling the werewolf in when he got here. _If he got here._

Knowing Lupin, Snape wouldn't be surprised if the man had fallen off a cliff on the way over to be honest.

Snape sighed and took a seat by the fireplace. He surveyed the office silently, eyes taking in the rather disturbing dark creatures that lined the shelves in cages, bottles and tanks.

He sneered at the ever present Grindylow. Lupin had collected another one for the year again but really it didn't look that different. Not that Snape paid much attention to the tank's previous occupants before.

He and Lupin had developed a mutual understanding over the years. Calling them friends was pushing it but Snape had to admit there were worse things in this world than Lupin.

Like Professor Xavia from the years previously. Snape was all for scaring the daylights out of poor unsuspecting students but did she really have to go spewing out her pureblood crap left, right and center? Not only that but she walked around as if she owned the place and threw hissi fits whenever she didn't get what she pleased.

It drove Snape crazy and he was secretly ecstatic when he heard that Xavia would be spending a good long time in Azkaban after last year's fiasco.

It might have been the mutual hatred towards Xavia over the past decade that had caused Snape to view Lupin as more of an asset than a liability. Partnered with age, peace and a feeling of tranquil normalcy over the past few years and Snape might have considered Lupin a companion if he could stop cringing at the thought.

After all, Lupin was all Snape really had from his school days. Minerva and Poppy were too old and all the others much too young. There was still Black but he hadn't seen the man in ten years and he was hoping to keep it that way. The last he'd known, the man was off to Rome for a job as a reporter having discovered some crazy passion to travel and Lupin occasionally mentioned his name in forms of:

"Sirius says hi by the way."

Whether this was true or not was doubtful but Snape would give the werewolf points for trying.

Snape snapped out of his memories as the fireplace beside him flared and a man came tumbling out of the Floo.

Severus Snape regarded Remus Lupin silently as the former straightened and brushed the soot out of his forever graying hair. The years had been good on Lupin too, Snape supposed. He looked healthier than he did years ago and the advances to the Wolfsbane potion, although small, kept the pain minimal. By now Remus was able to work all days except the day directly after the moon. If they kept going Lupin might be able to live just as long as any other wizard of their time period. And if they went further….

"Would it kill you to smile once in a while?" Remus said, frowning at the sulking man in his armchair and effectively jolting Snape out of his inner musings.

"You're late," Snape told him and Lupin shrugged, picking up a few suitcases before walking off to his desk at the other end of the room.

"Had some things to take care of," the man said as he rummaged through his belongings.

Snape sat silently for a while, watching Lupin take out books, clothes and all sorts of other personal belongings and filing them away.

"So how was your summer Serverus?"

Snape sneered, "Not as exciting as yours I can assure you."

Lupin grinned, "You know about that too huh?"

"I'd imagine the whole staff knows by now. One doesn't expect to skip more than half the staff meetings without questions being asked," Snape drawled.

Remus' only response was to shrug again before continuing on with his past train of thought.

"Yes well. My summer wasn't too bad. Teddy got to meet some new people and I got to explore different lifestyles."

"Yes. With your drab and pathetic lifestyle, getting shot in the chest must have been a revolutionary experience."

If Remus caught the sarcastic tone in Snape's voice he decided to ignore it and after a beat Snape went on.

"Speaking of which. Where is that boy of yours?"

Snape refrained from calling the "boy" a brat or any other sort of term. Lupin could take anything Snape threw at him but he was downright volatile when family was involved.

Besides, if Snape really thought about it. The Lupin kid wasn't that bad. His mother's genes had no doubt saved his life when it came to potion brewing and Snape had a sneaking suspicion the boy had been raised in a way so that he was aware of the war and everyone, including Snape's, involvements in it.

It was hard to bash on a kid that did well in your class, was reliable and polite, was friends with your best student and, in ways that Snape was incapable or comprehending, seemed to look up to you.

Remus turned to the man at the fireplace with a raised eyebrow, "Teddy? He's on the train. Where else?"

Snape shrugged, "Considering your accommodations include a fireplace linked directly to your home I don't see why he would take the train."

Remus grinned, "Well. Maybe I don't want him to miss a Hogwarts Express experience."

Snape made a "hrmm" noise but all together stayed silent.

"So. You gonna sit there and mope or are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" Remus asked as he shut his now empty briefcase and pushed it to the back of his closet.

"Hrm well. You'll be happy to know Xavia will not be returning this year," Snape started as Remus took a seat at his desk.

"Delighted. Who's replacing her?"

"Another one voted in by the pure bloods. What's left of them anyways," Snape muttered and Remus sighed.

"One leaves and another takes her place."

"Actually no. The person who was initially voted in backed out at the last minute and gave us a replacement by the name of Lucy Heartfilia. Some Italian from some unknown little school in Italy. Claims to have moved to Britain in the past year or so. English is acceptable. Skills yet to be determined but when compared to previous years Minerva seems to approve."

"Have you met her?" Lupin asked, tilting his head slightly to the side in question.

"Met her this morning," Snape replied curtly, "Blonde. Fairly tall. Accent. Mid thirties…..Smiles a lot to the point of annoyance."

Remus snickered quietly as a displeased look passed over Snape's face.

"Yes well. Sounds friendlier than Xavia already. I'll try to keep an open mind. What about this person who was voted in?"

Snape waved a dismissive hand, "Not important. Probably got a better offer elsewhere."

"But won't the parents be upset?"

"Honestly Lupin I don't think it matters. Why is it that you must _care so much?"_

Remus shrugged, "Caring is my _modus operandi. Anything else I should know? What's happening with the rest of the staff?"_

"Nothing of interest. Jarrod is still as bland as ever and Bobo is still fawning over Croswell. Hopefully they'll realize it soon so the woman can finally change her ridiculous name."

Lupin looked mildly impressed before he shifted his suitcase in his hands and packed it away into his wardrobe.

"So. You never answered my question," Remus finally said, straightening to walking over to the door.

"And what question was that?"

"How was your summer?"

Snape rolled his eyes, "I slept. I ate. I read. I listened to the wireless. Why in Merlin's name does it matter Lupin?" he growled and Lupin laughed.

"And you said _I had a boring lifestyle? You don't seriously expect me to believe that's __all you did."_

Remus grinned at the glare that was thrown to him before he was met with a barely audible yet surprisingly proud tone of voice.

"I created a new potion."

Remus grinned. Wonders really could happen. In twelve years he'd managed to do the impossible: engage Severus Snape in polite conversation.

"What's it do?"

Snape glared at him, "If I told you you wouldn't understand a word of it," the potions master replied and Remus shrugged again.

"Dumb it down for me."

Snape paused as if in thought and Remus leaned casually against his desk, waiting for the man to continue.

"It allows the drinker to be able to speak his or her mind. So far the tests have been positive,"

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Ok….who's the drinker?"

"An assistant."

"You're not putting this into my potion are you?" Remus teased and Snape glared at him.

"Not yet but the thought has crossed my mind," Snape said bitterly before adding, "She's mute," almost as an afterthought.

"Your assistant?"

_"I guess that makes more sense."_

"Yes you bloody werewolf who else would I be talking about?" Snape snapped and Lupin shrugged.

"I dunno. Just asking. Did you test it on someone who isn't mute?" Remus asked, making his way to his office door.

"No."

Remus rolled his eyes. That looked to be the end of their ever so pleasant conversation. Still, it was better than nothing. As he opened his office door he gave a wry grin at the sulking man in his office.

"Come on. The students will be arriving any moment now."

* * *

Ted's experience on the Hogwarts Express had been quite pleasant and rather anticlimactic and by the time they got off, he and his friends couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts.

"We're supposed to ride in these?" Vic asked, patting the carriage seat before the trio.

He then paused to stare oddly at the Thestral it was connected to. The winged horse was rather small and it shrank away when Vic grinned at it.

"I'm gonna name you Etrigan Jr," he said with a nod.

Roy and Ted rolled his eyes as Vic reached over to pat the Thestral's head only to lurch back suddenly with a cry of pain.

"Ow!" he said, stuffing one finger in his mouth.

"What happened?" Ted asked Roy, noting that he couldn't physically see the Thestral himself.

"Little bastard bit him. Now come on or we'll be late," Roy said, mounting the carriage as Vic glared at the Thestral before them.

Ted hummed in amusement as he too got in. Thestrals were rare creatures that could only be seen if one had witnessed and accepted death. Vic and Roy, being sons of Death Eaters and raised in their care no doubt had seen plenty of death from their birth, a subject that Ted could accept but didn't want to talk about. No doubt Roy knew of this fact but he didn't want to tell Vic in case the younger brother didn't know what he saw could not be seen by everyone else.

Their trip up to the castle was relatively peaceful. Teddy was too busy thinking of all the things they'd do this school year and Vic was too busy sucking on his bitten finger. Besides, Roy didn't talk much anyways.

As soon as they got off they'd grabbed their trunks and started an excited dash to the Great Hall.

"Hey Teddy. How was your summer?" Patty Thompson, an energetic Gryffindor in the same year as the boys was sitting next to him with a grin on her face.

"My summer?" Ted asked before Vic interrupted from his other side, "It was great! We went to a Muggle fair and preformed in a theater. Oh and Ted got a computer!"

"How was your trip to Japan?" Teddy asked and Patty gave a huge grin.

"It was awesome! We went to Akihabara and we got so many neat souvenirs. The Muggle world is awesome! Right Liz?"

The three turned to Patty's older sister sitting opposite them at the table chatting with her own friends.

"Huh?" she said, offering the boys a smile before going back to her own conversations.

Patty rolled her eyes and gave a pout at her sister's dismissal and Teddy gave her a pat on the back to cheer her up.

"When's the food? I'm starving," Vic complained, looking down the aisle as if it were to suddenly appear before him.

Ted followed his gaze up to the teacher's table.

He spotted his dad at the other end of the teacher's table, talking pleasantly with the flying instructor Professor Logan as Professor Snape scowled into a wine glass on the other side.

Beside Logan was Professor Bobo, Teddy's Transfiguration teacher and right at the end was Professor Croswell, their History of Magic teacher and Head of Ravenclaw. The pair was busy talking with Professor Sloane standing behind them and Ted noted that the old Charms teacher had even whiter hair than he'd seen him last. He also looked older and Ted hoped he was still up for teaching a bunch of rowdy students. Ted also noted Professor Jarrod, the boring old Astronomy teacher and Professor Baille the Head of Hufflepuff house and the herbology teacher painfully ignoring each other as they sat at the other end of Snape.

"Who's the blonde one?" Vic asked.

"Bobo?" Ted said, confused for a moment before scanning the rest of the table's occupants to pick out another light blonde witch at the other end of the table.

"Never seen her before. She's probably Xavia's replacement," Teddy said with a frown. He didn't remember his father having talked of a replacement but surely with Xavia gone Hogwarts would need another one.

"We'll wait for introductions. She looks nicer than Xavia at least," Ted said lightly.

Vic gave him a grin and a nod before he leaned over Ted and began talking away to the ever excited Patty beside him.

In the meantime Ted watched the new witch scrutinizingly, trying to remember if he'd seen her before. Being in only second year, Teddy didn't know all the teachers of the castle seeing that certain elective courses were taught by teachers that rarely made appearances. Still, normally one would see glimpses of them, especially at holiday feasts and their names were spread throughout the students.

Still, shifting through his mental catalogue, Ted concluded that this teacher must be new.

And the only spot that needed to be filled was Xavia's former position as being a Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher for the students whose parents refused for them to be taught by a werewolf.

Ted frowned deeper as she regarded the new professor. This professor was younger, not as young as Professors Logan and Bobo but younger than Xavia had been; mid thirties at most. She seemed cheerier, smiled warmly at teachers who talked to her and her light blonde hair made her fair complexion and her bright blue eyes stand out. If you were to judge a book from her cover Ted would have thought her to be really nice…but Ted was always taught never to do that…

"Oi. First years at twelve o' clock," Vic said, elbowing Ted in the ribs so that the boy shriveled his head back to the main doors.

The large double doors opened and pouring in came a large bunch of first years.

"Wow. They like triple our member count," Teddy pointed out and Vic grinned.

"Well. Maybe after the war people felt the need to get it on," he said, innuendo evident in his voice and Teddy playfully shoved his friend away with a laugh.

"Still. This Sorting's going to take forever," Ted said with a sigh and Vic's grin faded to be replaced with a panicked expression.

"Yeah and then the teachers have to do their thing and we'll never get to the food!" the boy complained and Ted grinned again.

"Is that all you care about?"

Vic shrugged, "Gotta keep the tummy happy you know," he said, patting his own stomach.

Teddy refocused his attention back to the first years and managed to spot the small blonde head of Tomi in the crowd. He was talking with a girl beside him but when he looked up and spotted Tedy's bright blue hair he waved shyly.

Ted waved back as the first of the names were read out by Headmistress McGonagall. Ted was fast to tune the assembly out as he, Vic and Patty whispered amongst themselves about their summer.

He left out the whole Muggle attack at their house part but Patty and Vic still found it hard to reign in their excitement and enthusiasm as they swapped stories.

He paid mild attention when TK's name was called and was wholly expecting the result.

"Gryffindor!" the hat bellowed and the hall cheered once more.

Ted grinned as TK made his way over to the end of the table. He tried to scan up the table to see if Matt had been watching but unable to spot the older boy he turned his attention back to his friends.

The teachers said their introductions to the first years as Ted and Vic prattled away and finally, when Ted really didn't think there was anything else that could possibly be said about their summer Headmistress McGonagall announced the beginning of the Welcoming Feast.

"Finally!" Vic shouted as the table before them suddenly erupted with food.

"Dibs on the chicken!" the boy shouted, reaching over to grab a few drumsticks before anyone else got to them.

Teddy sighed as he watched Vic's usual excitement before passing the mashed potatoes over to Patty and digging in.

He'd just managed to finish off two plates before a voice behind him spoke up.

"Hey Teddy," an excited voice said eagerly

"Huh?" Ted said, mouth still full of potatoes as he turned to find TK staring intently behind him.

Quickly he swallowed.

"Hey TK. What's up?"

TK beamed at Ted.

"See? He knows my name. _The Teddy Lupin knows my name," he said to a girl standing shyly behind him._

"I didn't doubt you," the girl replied a bit indignantly but she blushed when she noticed Teddy regarding her with a raised eyebrow. The girl was small and skinny, about the same size as Tomi really, shoulder length brown hair ran down her slender frame and dark brown eyes stared down at the ground.

"Oh yeah. This is Kari King. We met on the train," the boy said happily and Ted gave her a smile and a rather awkward hello.

"King? You mean like Travis King? The Quidditch team captain?" Vic piped up and Kari blushed.

Ted was just about to turn to tell Vic that King was still a pretty common last name before Kari spoke up.

"Yeah. Travis is my older brother," she said shyly and Vic beamed at her.

"That's so cool! Do you play Quidditch too?"

Kari ducked her head in embarrassment.

"No. I don't play. I'm not good at Quidditch," she said and Vic frowned.

Ted sighed. Travis King was by far the best Chaser in the school. Not only that but he was a born leader, always giving hints here and there and raising spirits after a loss. He'd been promoted to team captain in his third year making him the youngest captain at Hogwarts for about a century. Ted witnessed firsthand what Travis could do and had somewhat idolized him until it became clear through Travis' youth and enthusiasm that the boy was not much different than all Ted's other friends. He and Travis weren't very close, they didn't say hi to each other if they crossed in the halls and they few times they did talk they was over Quidditch. Vic on the other hand had matched Travis' energy and saw the other boy as more of a role model.

"What grade's Travis in now?" Ted asked and Kari shrugged, once more staring at the ground. Ted had a feeling the girl was often compared to her high status brother and quickly sought to change the topic.

"Fifth," another voice rang out and Ted looked up just in time for a boy to sit down calmly beside him, wedging himself between Ted and Vic.

"I'm in fifth year Ted," Travis said as he made himself comfortable and grabbed a chicken wing off Vic's plate.

"Hey!" Vic complained as Travis grinned at him through a mouthful of chicken. Teddy himself tried to compensate by giving Vic one of his.

"Hey pipsqueak. You trying out for Quidditch again this year?" Travis asked him and Vic shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe. If we're not too busy," Vic said and Travis nodded.

"You should. Give you a few years and you'll be better than me," he said and Vic beamed at the older boy.

"So Sis. How's Hogwarts? See you've made a friend," Travis said, nodding to TK beside her.

"Tomi Kadokawa," TK said, "But just call me TK."

"TK?" Travis asked and blushed, "Well. No one can spell my first name correctly around here and my last name's hard to pronounce properly."

"You a Brit?"

"My father was British but my parents are divorced so I followed my mother's last name."

Travis paused, swiping another piece of chicken in the process much to Vic's displeasure.

"That reminds me of someone…." Travis said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Matt?" Teddy suggested helpfully and Travis snapped his fingers.

"Bingo! Oy, Matt!" Travis called loudly down the table. Teddy watched TK stiffen slightly at the mention of his brother's name. No doubt they had yet to reconcile face to face after the little display at the Fair.

"What do you want Trav?" Matt said, sounding annoyed at his friend's shouting as he walked down the aisle.

"Get your pompous prefect's ass over here," Travis complained and Ted gave Matt a wave as he passed by. The boy had his hair gelled back for the first day of school and the Prefects badge was pinned proudly onto his robes.

"Hey Teddy. Hey Vic," Matt said, before he turned to TK and froze.

"Hey bro," TK said in false cheeriness and Matt gave him a rather strained smile.

"Hey Tomi."

Ted fidgeted a bit awkwardly in his seat but Travis seemed to interrupt.

"You never told me your brother was coming to Hogwarts this year," the boy accused and Matt shrugged.

"I was busy," he said before he gave Kari a polite smile.

"You Travis' sister? He's mentioned you a lot," Matt said and Kari blushed again.

"Now you might want to get back to your seats before we all get in trouble," Matt said before looking at Travis.

"And that includes you Pompous Quidditch Captain."

Ted and Vic shared a snicker as Travis feigned a pout.

"Fine. See you guys around. If you need me I'll be on the Quidditch pitch," Travis said, getting up with a grin and patting his younger sister on the head.

"Matt?" TK asked hesitantly and Matt crouched down to look at him.

"We'll talk later OK? Tonight. At the Owlery."

Tomi beamed at his brother and shot Ted a joyful look before rushing off with Kari back to their original seats.

"Come on Trav," Matt said, dragging his friend the other way.

Ted turned back to Vic at the table.

"Are you done yet? I want to see if all our stuff got to our room ok," Teddy said and Vic nodded before shoving a few last treats into his mouth and getting up.

The trek back to the Gryffindor common rooms were relatively quiet only to Teddy's dismay he'd never asked Matt for the password. It looked like he wasn't the only one. Several other Gryffindors loitered in the halls, having left the Feast early but not having the sense to ask for the new password.

Teddy sighed.

"Come on. Let's just go to the Tower."

Vic nodded as he ran ahead, leading the way to the Astronomy Tower where Ted and his friends usually met up throughout the year.

With Roy in Slytherin it would be weird for a people in rival houses to be seen constantly hanging out with each other. The roof of the Astronomy Tower was the boys' safe haven from those around them.

Ted himself loved it. It was the highest place in the castle and he loved the scenery from his position at the edge of the tower with his legs just dangling off. From his view he could make out a large part of the school grounds. Before him was the forever ominous Forbidden Forest with Hagrid's Hut and the Whomping Willow slightly to the left and the greenhouses almost directly below. And if Ted were to turn his head to the right he'd be greeted with the gentle, calming waves of the lake where the Giant Squid would occasionally make an appearance. And if you looked farther down you could just make out the Quidditch pitch on the other side of the grounds. It seemed like the perfect spot to get the best of all worlds at Hogwarts.

"Ahhh," Vic said, breathing in a lungful of fresh air, "Nothing beats the air around here."

Teddy grinned at his friends and lay down to stare at the stars.

"They never get this bright at home," he said, pointing to the sky and Vic grinned.

"Yup. I-

CLANG!

Vic jumped a foot in the air and Teddy almost fell off the roof as he scrambled to get his bearings.

The noise had echoed through the grounds only to waver and fade away as fast as it had come, leaving two very confused and anxious boys. It was impossible to pin point the source of the noise or even the cause from a meeting so brief yet Teddy found himself searching anyways.

As he scanned the deserted Hogwarts grounds as Vic peered through the Astronomy window below them.

The complex was empty and silence engulfed the duo once more. Teddy's eyes took in the trees of the Forbidden Forest swaying silently in the gentle breeze. The lake could be seen rippling softly in the breeze and everywhere else was empty. All the students and teachers were no doubt still in the Great Hall or up in their rooms by now.

Ted took one look at a confused and still shocked Vic before expressing his confusion.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ted cried, voice resonating throughout the silent grounds.

"I think it came from somewhere by the lake," Vic said, pointing in a vague general direction.

Teddy gave him a quizzical glance, "If you haven't noticed Sherlock the lake's huge," he said sarcastically. Never the less he roamed his eyes searchingly through the complex. In the dark he couldn't make out anything truth be told and he sighed.

"Wanna go down and look around?" Vic said and Teddy shook his head.

"It was probably just the squid. What else could be at the lake anyways?" Ted said, trying to get himself comfortable.

"Aw come on Ted. Where's your sense of adventure?" Vic protested but he plopped himself down on the roof again anyways.

"So yeah. I forgot what I was talking about," Vic grumbled, "When's Roy getting here?"

"Now."

A voice called from below them and Ted looked up to find Roy pushing himself through the window and climbing up onto the roof beside them.

"Hey bro. Play a song would you?" Vic asked and Roy took out his harmonica with a shrug.

"What song?"

Vic paused before his face broke out into a grin, "Play it Sam. Play _As Time Goes By."_

Roy smirked at his brother and Teddy got ready for a peaceful night of stars and music.

Oh how he loved Hogwarts.

* * *

Again, sorry for the not so exciting chapter. At least we got to see some of Snape and a re-introduction of the more important teachers.

Neville as herbology teacher would have screwed up the already precarious boy girl ratio in this school (I know. Testosterone seems to be dominating) :S Plus. There'd be way too many Gryffindors...I might think about adding him into Teddy's later Hogwarts years (if I ever decide to go that far).

Last note: Review please :)


	14. The Wand

The next day found Teddy thrown head first into what parents and teachers loved to call the "education system."

Even though it was a short day to signify the first day of school, Ted found that his schedule was almost too much to bear.

"This year sucks," Teddy grumbled as he sat down at the dinner table that night.

The day would start out fine with Transfiguration and Charms but it just got worse and worse. Potions was the period right before lunch and Teddy already dreaded having to survive Snape's classes before making a bid for food and freedom. After lunch was Herbology, the class Roy refused to be a part of, leaving Teddy one friend less for two periods in a row (since rarely did they see each other during meal times). Plus, being in second year, the boys didn't have Flying classes anymore and Astronomy was only held every Wednesday night.

So, Ted was left with one restless Victor Sage and few classes that interested him.

"I can't wait until next year," Ted grumbled as he began piling food onto his plate.

Next year Ted would be allowed electives and he hoped he'd get into the more interesting classes like Care of Magical Creatures.

"Cheer up Ted. At least Defence is still last," Vic said with a grin as he too began filling his plate with food.

Ted nodded a bit thoughtfully. He loved having Defense last just to get that final thrill before the end of the day. At least he had something to look forward to and his Dad treated him no different than all the other students much to Teddy's constant relief. He'd long since accepted the fact that his father was a teacher and it was pretty easy to forget that they were even related when in the classroom.

"Still. I wish we had some electives. A kid can only take the same classes so many times before he snaps," Ted complained and Vic nodded in agreement.

"No kidding. No Flying? They expect me to sit in a classroom all day? Maybe we should join Quidditch again Ted," Vic said and Teddy shrugged.

"Go for it if you want to but leave me out."

"Aww come on. Travis is a good guy."

"It's not Travis. It's the sport. I suck at it. I blame my dad," Teddy replied with a grin and Vic laughed.

"Yeah. Everything can be blamed on genetics. Remember that," Teddy recited taking a rather stubborn bite of food, "Now come on. Let's get to the field and play some soccer. I need a good run."

Vic nodded quickly and the two boys wolfed down the rest of their dinners and were out the doors.

Soccer was rather uneventful. After a full year of practicing almost daily Teddy thought he was actually better at it than Quidditch. Not to mention, rather to Teddy's surprise, lots of students at Hogwarts liked to play too. On a good day at the right time it was pretty easy to find more kids to play with and soon a whole game could be started.

Even though some people, mostly the pure blooded crowd, scorned the idea of the game, it was still rather obvious how Muggle ways had begun to creep into the Wizarding world.

"Where do you want to go? The field's pretty crowded," Teddy said, frowning slightly at the mass of students that decorated the field. Funny, there weren't this many first years last year.

"We could go round to the back," Vic suggested, "by the greenhouses."

Ted shrugged, "Fine but don't blame me if I kick it into the water," he joked.

The greenhouses were at the back of the castle. And rarely did the boys ever need to be there unless for class of course. Teddy found it too deserted to be much fun. All it really had was flat land leading to the lake and mountains bared the path to Hogsmede.

But it would do and Teddy and Vic had managed to get into a the rhythm of a simple soccer drill before a low, booming voice echoed behind them.

"What're yeh boys doin'?"

Teddy looked over to find Hagrid standing several feet away with a bucket of who knows what in a grubby palm. Dressed in his typical fur skinned attire he regarded the boys with a curious expression before giving a grunt in the back of his throat and taking a few careful steps forward.

"Football," Teddy replied a bit confused as the half giant towered over the pair. If Teddy hadn't known better, he half suspected to the squashed by the half giant as he approached them.

"Is that bad?" Vic asked and Hagrid looked down at the kids once more. He seemed to frown at them for a second before his eyes softened.

"Well. Not particularly," the Hagrid said with an eventual shrug, "But someone's been messin' with things they shouldn' be around here. Left an awful mess o' the tomb."

"….The tomb?" Teddy asked, as he and Vic gave each other raised eyebrows.

"Aye. Old man Dumbledore's tomb. Down disrespectful to be defacin' it those ungrateful buggers. When I get my hands on 'em..." Hagrid trailed off as he noticed the rather innocent looks Teddy and Vic were giving him.

He quickly coughed, "O' course I don' suspect yeh boys. Especially Remus' boy," he said with a smile and a hard ruffle of Teddy's hair.

Teddy blushed but felt a little bit of pride seep into his heart.

"So yeh boys keep yer eyes open an' tell me if yeh see anyone suspicious," Hagrid told them before giving Vic a pat on the back as well and walking off.

The boys were silent for a beat, simply watching Hagrid continue on, swinging his bucket and whistling casually as he went.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Ted?" Vic said in a whisper as Hagrid disappeared back into the castle.

"Yeah. Come on. We're checking out the tomb," Teddy said, tossing the soccer ball back to his friend and heading towards the shore of the lake.

Dumbledore was the only Headmaster to be buried at Hogwarts and his grave, as all students knew, was located by the shores of the Black Lake. People rarely visited the place, some not caring while others didn't feel like they had any right to impose on the Headmaster's final resting place. Teddy was one of the later and while he had given the grave small glances in passing he had never actually stopped to take a close look.

The tombstone was rather small in Teddy's opinion but it was carved in white marble, nestled almost softly before a large tree that shaded the whole area. It was close enough to the lake that if you stood at a certain spot you could feel the salty spray of the lake's waves on your skin. Rocks left over from the shore surrounded the area giving the area a secluded and quiet atmosphere.

Teddy and Vic picked their way through the rocks and stopped when they arrived at the clearing containing the grave itself. The boys gave each other a glance before Teddy took a few hesitant steps forward.

The grave itself was simply a large slab of white marble that seemed to be embedded into the ground. It was the cover of the coffin and Teddy stared silently at lid before he crouched down and traced one of the lid's intricate designs carved onto it.

"It's peaceful here," Teddy mumbled and Vic stayed silent, staring at the simple gravestone, lost in thought.

Teddy turned his attention back to the grave, following the curves of the marble and the delicate designs with his eyes. He skimmed the words and smoothed out the small leaf carvings until, rather suddenly, they ended.

"It's cracked," Teddy observed, hand touching the edge of the grave where marble should have been. Instead there was only a harsh, biting crack; jagged in all sides and it felt rough under Teddy's skin.

It looked like someone had taken a bite out of the corner of the grave and Ted had frowned distastefully at it.

It wasn't the cause of decay or bad weather. The missing chunk of the corner of the grave was too sharp. It could have only been made intentionally.

Someone was trying to get inside.

"Hey Ted," Vic said, interrupting Ted's thoughts, "Remember that sound we heard last night?"

Teddy frowned in concentration. He did remember a sound. A sort of clang like something heavy had been dropped onto a hard surface….or someone trying to break open the cover of a grave…

Teddy and Vic shared a glance.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Vic asked after a sizable pause.

Ted shrugged, "Whatever it is. I think someone's trying to get in. The question is why?"

Vic shrugged, "We'll think of that later. Let's get out of here. Roy's probably looking for us by now."

Teddy nodded in reply as the boys made a dash back to the castle. Leaving Dumbledore's grave standing alone behind them.

* * *

"So? What do you think?" Vic asked as he and Teddy peered anxiously down at Roy sitting at the table before them.

The boys had managed to grab Roy upon re-entering the castle and dragged him off to a secluded section of the library.

Roy, in response to his brother's question frowned, "Well there're two possibilities: Either you guys are nuts and the whole thing's a mistake. Or someone really is trying to get into Dumbledore's tomb."

"Think we should tell someone?" Vic asked and Teddy shook his head.

"We don't know who did it or why. All we know is the same as what Hagrid told us: Someone's been messing around with the tomb."

"What're you guys talking about?"

The three boys jumped slightly as a small voice interrupted them from behind.

TK stood behind them with a curious expression, a stack of books in his hand. He was followed by a thin boy behind him. Ted glanced at the other boy, noting the earrings and a purple streak down his shoulder length hair.

"Nothing. Just going over some History of Magic homework," Roy covered and Ted and Vic nodded dumbly.

"How's Hogwarts?" Teddy asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"It's great. Snape's kind of scary but your Dad's class is really fun," Tomi replied, nodding his head in agreement.

"Did you make a new friend?" Vic asked helpfully, pointing to the sulking boy behind him.

"Yeah. This is Clair. We met at lunch," TK said happily, and the boy behind him gave a small nod.

"Hello," he mumbled.

"Clair? Isn't that a girl- OW!" Vic cried, suddenly rubbing his shin as he shot a furious look to his brother behind him.

Roy instead was busy staring at Clair with a rather suspicious look on his face.

"Ignore them," Teddy interrupted as he paused to look at Clair more closely. The boy was lanky and stood hunched with his hands in his pockets. His fringe of hair covered his eyes making it almost impossible to see where the other boy was looking at.

His ghostly pale skin contrasted sharply with blood red lips and Teddy found it oddly disconcerting.

"Well. Nice to meet you Clair," Teddy said, noticing that an awkward silence had started to form amongst the group.

"Well come on then. I'll show you guys round the library," Vic suddenly interrupted, looping an arm around and excited TK and dragging him off.

Mentally, Teddy thanked his friend for finding an easy escape route.

"Aren't you coming Clair?" TK asked behind him but Clair merely shook his head.

Teddy and Roy exchanged a glance as Vic dragged TK down the aisles of books behind them.

"So. Hufflepuff I see," Teddy said in an attempt to make small talk.

Clair just nodded before speaking up himself, "You were talking about something."

Teddy and Roy exchanged another glance.

"So," Roy said with a cough, "As I was saying about the tomb."

Teddy's heart leaped and he spun around to face Roy with a look of shock on his face.

"It says here that Dumbledore's tomb was opened by Lord Voldemort once in 1998. Split it open from head to foot with a great crack," Roy said, pointing to a vague book lying on the desk, "You might want to put that in your essay Ted."

Teddy gaped at his friend like a dead fish before realizing Roy's cover and deciding to play along.

"Yeah but how's that relate to the topic? Mr. Croswell wants to know about the life of Dumbledore. Not of his tomb."

"Yes but it does sound interesting," Roy supplied casually, "The very idea that Voldemort could not be the one to kill Dumbledore making him go back to attack him when he's already dead? Sounds like a grudge to me."

"No," Clair suddenly said, "Voldemort wanted the Elder Wand."

Teddy and Roy were left speechless for a very long time, both staring in somewhat shock at such a blunt observation from the boy behind them.

The Elder Wand and the rest of the Deathly Hallows' resident locations had been kept fairly hush hush even after the war. While many now knew of their existence it was rarely mentioned where the Hallows now lay to prevent another war over them.

The few people who did know were Order members and last time Teddy checked, there had been no "Clair" on the family tree.

"What's the Elder Wand?" Roy asked, playing dumb and Clair shrugged, "The most powerful wand in the world. They say it was placed with Dumbledore when he died. That's what Voldemort was looking for and when he was defeated they returned it to the tomb."

"Who says?" Teddy asked, now deeply curious as to where Clair was getting his information.

"Professor Heartfilia," Clair said with a shrug.

Teddy frowned at this news. For one thing. That meant Clair was one of Heartfilia's students and another was that the Professor might just be spreading the whereabouts of the Hallows to the rest of her students.

"Well I don't believe it," Teddy said half heartedly, "And I've got a paper to write. Come on Roy. You've gotta help."

Roy nodded, packing up his books and walking after Ted.

"What year are you in by the way?" Roy asked as he went by.

There was a noticeable pause and for a second Teddy didn't think Clair would answer.

"First," Clair finally said and Roy made a "hrmm" sound before walking off.

"Vic? We'll meet you at the usual spot," Teddy called and Vic gave him a thumbs up as he continued to show TK around the library.

* * *

After making a none too subtle escape from the library Ted and Roy decided now was a good time to head to the Astronomy roof.

"What was that about?" Teddy asked as he glanced at Roy beside him.

"He said he was a first year but I don't remember him at the sorting," Roy said with a frown.

"You mean you actually pay attention at the sorting?" Teddy asked, incredulously.

Roy shrugged, "For most of it anyways. It's not like I had anything other to do. I'm the only Slytherin boy in my year," he said with a scowl.

Teddy snickered.

"So? Maybe he wasn't at the Sorting. Harry once told me he and Victoire's uncle Ron accidentally skipped the Sorting in their second year because they missed the train.

"Maybe," Roy said with a frown as they vaulted through the Astronomy window and climbed up onto the roof.

"Between you and me I'm more worried about Professor Heartfilia. I mean, she sounded nice and all at the Feast but still….."

"You think it's her? The person breaking into the tomb?" Roy asked and Teddy shrugged again.

"I don't even know if someone's breaking into the tomb in the first place," he said with a sigh before something from before had him leaping to his feet.

"Sit down before you fall off," Roy said, grabbing Teddy by the arm as he staggered on the slant of the roof.

"No wait. I just realized. The Elder Wand! Remember? Harry said he put the Wand in a place nobody would find it. I bet you he put it in Dumbledore's tomb. That's what Clair said right?"

"How do you know he's telling the truth?"

"But if you think about it it makes sense. Nobody would want to open up a tomb unless there was something worth taking and who wouldn't want the Elder Wand?"

"But they say the Wand only works for one master," Vic said, poking his head out from the window.

"Not necessarily. If you're not the master, the wand just acts like a regular wand but it still works," Roy said as Teddy helped Vic up onto the roof.

"So either way. You're guess is that it's the same guys who took the Invisibility Cloak," Vic said turning to Ted who nodded.

"It makes sense doesn't it? You take the Cloak. You go for the Wand next. Someone out there wants to the Master of Death," Teddy urged.

"Yeah but I thought they were Muggles. They can't get onto Hogwarts grounds."

"Well they might not be fully Muggles. Maybe they were wizards dressed as Muggles. Or maybe whoever's behind it all hired some wizards to take care of the job this time."

Vic and Roy frowned in thought at all the possibilities.

"Whatever the case. I'm sure someone wants the Deathly Hallows and I'd bet you a thousand galleons that the Elder Wand is in the White Tomb," Teddy said exasperatedly.

"Alright fine. Say the Wand is in the Tomb and someone really is after it. How are they going to find the Resurrection Stone? Harry said he dropped it in some random place in the Forest," Vic argued.

"But that's not the point! The point is they're going for the Wand next and we're going to catch them before they get it."

Teddy regarded his friends curiously for a moment as both of them turned that information in their heads.

"How do you suppose we do that?" Roy said at last, "Your dorms are at the other end of the castle and I'm in the dungeons with no windows. We can't sit here every night for the rest of our lives until something happens."

But Teddy just grinned.

"We'll use the Map duh!" he said, "It's too old to show the tomb itself but it still shows the patch of land where it is. We'll just mark it and check it to see if anyone's there."

"So you're going to stay up all night just staring at a spot on the Map?" Roy said disbelievingly.

Teddy frowned, "Well..no. Maybe I can set up some sort of alert system to tell me when someone's been where..….I'll ask my dad tomorrow."

"I thought you didn't want to tell anyone yet. Not until we get actual proof," Vic said and Teddy grinned.

"True but I can get him to do it without telling exactly why."

Vic grinned back, "Said like the son of a true Marauder I'd say."

And even Roy smirked.

* * *

Exam failure is inevitable...so I decided to publish this before I fail them all at least.

Reviews appreciated.


	15. You're Gonna Go Far Kid

"Hey Dad!" Teddy said as his father finally stepped out of the Floo that morning with an envelope in his hand.

"What're you boys doing in here?" Remus asked, staring quizzically at the three boys sitting in his office chairs.

"We need you to fix the Map," Vic said and Remus raised an eyebrow as he sat down next to Ted.

"Why? Is it broken?" he joked.

"No. See. We need you to put in like a notification feature so it'll like flash or beep or something when someone goes near a certain spot," Teddy summarized.

"It's not a computer Ted," Remus said but he took it out of his son's hands anyways.

"Why do you need a notification?" Remus asked, taking out his wand and muttering the incantation.

We've got a Herbology assignment but someone keeps messing up our plants. We want to know who," came the casual lie.

"Yeah. I bet you it's that Kimblee," Vic supplied, deciding to play along with the fool, "I haven't seen him much this year but he gets around. Did you know he's a Prefect this year? How'd that slimeball get to be a Prefect? I bet you he bribed Snape. Bloody rich kids."

Remus sighed. On one hand he figured he should be the good teacher and question Jason Kimblee. On the other hand he could be the good parent and help his son track down the real culprit.

"Once you find out who it is you tell a teacher. I don't want you getting into any fights," Remus warned."

Teddy and his friends nodded dumbly

"We won't get into any fights Dad. Promise," Teddy said sounding as sincere as ever and Remus sighed again.

"Fine," he said much to the boys' delight, "Come back at the end of the day. I'll probably have something figured out by then. I've got marking to do."

"Thanks Dad you're awesome!" Teddy said, giving his father a bear hug beside him.

"Yes well, no promises," Remus said and Teddy and his friends nodded.

"What's in the envelope? Teddy asked curiously, pointing to the parchment in his father's hand.

"Oh. It's from the Weasleys," Remus said with a faint frown. "They'll be going to France in a few weeks. They'll be staying over for Christmas."

"Why?" Teddy asked feeling a bit dejected. He'd always spent his Christmas holidays over at The Burrow. It was like a family tradition.

"Well Victoire will be in school next year so I guess they want one last big family trip before everyone starts going to school."

Remus regarded his son's despairing face for a moment, "Cheer up Ted. We'll still have a Christmas party at our house. Vic and Roy will of course be joining us," he said, nodding to the two brothers opposite them.

Teddy and his friends instantly perked up at this idea with excited grins before Remus added.

"We'll send a note to your gran. I'm sure she'd love to see how much you've grown. Maybe invite some of the teachers along the way."

"Not Snape," Teddy said and Remus laughed, "We'll see."

"Ah come on. It'll be so awkward," Teddy complained but Remus only laughed more.

"How about Sirius?"

Remus frowned, "I haven't gotten word from Sirius in ages. I don't even know where he is anymore."

Teddy frowned again in thought, "How about Kingsley?"

"Kingsley has his own family to spend the holidays with but I can ask," Remus said with a shrug, "Anyone else?"

"Oh! How about Q and Helena?"

Remus nodded, "Sure. I can ask your mother to send a message to Helena. It'd be nice to see them again."

Teddy and his friends nodded their heads in agreement before Remus stood up.

"Well. Go on then. I've got a map to crack and you boys have breakfast to eat."

As the boys made an excited dash out of the office Vic couldn't help but turn to face Ted with a grin.

"Ted?"

"Yeah?"

"Your dad's awesome."

Ted grinned, "Knew that a long time ago Vic."

* * *

"Hello Professor Lupin," a gentle voice said soon after Teddy had left.

Remus was able to determine who the voice belonged to simply by the Italian accent that accompanied it.

"Good morning Ms. Heartfilia. Please just call me Remus," he said with a polite smile as he sat down at his desk.

"I'll call you Remus when you call my Lucy," the Italian witch replied with a smile.

"Alright then Lucy," Remus replied, two could play at that game, "Was there something you needed?"

"Oh no. I just wanted to stop by for a bit. Look at the grindylow. See if you'd managed to catch a bowtruckle that sort of thing," the professor replied.

"I'm afraid that would be more Hagrid's line of work," Remus said as he settled down to do some marking.

"But please take a seat," he added.

Truthfully he was quite curious as to why the other Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would want to socialize with him at all. Surely she knew he was a werewolf and a direct combatant for her job.

Then again, she probably knew about Xavia and wanted to make good relations to dispel any distrust between the staff and students.

Whatever the case he would be polite to her as if she were any other but a part of his head was telling him it was all a show to win the rest of the teachers over.

"I heard when I was entering that you'd be having a Christmas party," Professor Heartfilia said, staring intently at the Defense books that lined the shelves on the other side of the office.

There was a considerable pause and Remus inwardly cursed himself.

"Yes. It seems like our regular Christmas party location has taken a leave of absense" he said, trying to play it nicely.

There was another long uncomfortable pause.

"I heard that you'd be inviting the rest of your colleagues," Lucy pressed and Remus resisted the urge to slam his face into the desk.

"Yes…"

_"… but I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Fiona and Kate and Mark. Severus at worst!"_

Instead, being the gentleman that Remus Lupin no doubt was, his mouth spoke on its own before his mind was done ranting.

"Would you like to come?"

* * *

A few minutes after a cheerfully, enthusiastic display of affection from one Lucy Heartfilia, Remus didn't think he was all that up for teaching today.

She's seemed genuinely happy in which Remus had asked and had barely been able to say a rather dignified, "I'd be delighted!" before she had cheerfully begun to reminisce over previous summers as a girl.

Eventually the babbling stemmed down until the Professor left with a happy smile. Remus gave her a warm wave good bye, shut the door on her way out with a wave of his hand and promptly let his head drop onto his desk with a loud THUNK.

He felt a tiny bit happy seeing the delighted look on Professor Heartfilia's face but he supposed that was meant to be granted. Here was hoping the rest of the family and guests would approve.

"Lupin. So much as I don't want to disturb your…rest…."

Remus audibly groaned.

"What is it Severus?" he mumbled, head still on the desk.

"Your potion," Snape said bluntly, holding it up for Remus to take with a blind arm.

"Great. This day couldn't get any better," he mumbled as he frowned at the offending liquid.

There was a sizable pause.

"…Do you…want to….talk about it?" Snape mumbled.

Remus looked up at Snape, shocked out of mind as he stared at the depressing Potions master.

Did he just-?

And then, after Snape was no doubt feeling rather uncomfortable, Remus burst out laughing.

Snape scowled at the man and contemplated hexing him but Remus spoke before he could fetch his wand.

"What happened this summer Severus?" he said, trying in vain to muffle his laughter.

"You go from the most anti-social man on the planet to being concerned for my well being? I'm touched," Remus said with a sense of mockery.

"Just drink the damn potion Lupin," Snape snarled.

"Aww. But won't you let me talk about it?" Remus asked, feigning hurt.

Snape's wand hand was itching but Remus held the beloved potion close to him as a hostage. Should any attacks be made, Snape would be forced to make another batch and both men knew how much he'd hate to do that.

"Then talk for Merlin's sake," Snape growled, crossing his arms as he waited for the damn werewolf to drink his potion.

Remus on the other hand had gotten a better idea. He'd already screwed it up once. Once more couldn't hurt.

"How'd you like to come over for Christmas break?" Remus said instead and Snape looked taken aback for a second.

Remus took secret delight at the look of confusion that blossomed over Snape's face before the potion's master managed to collect himself.

"And why in Merlin's name would I do that?" the man asked.

"Well. It's either that or you stay and rot away in your dungeons all season. Not very festive if you ask me," Remus said with a shrug.

"Plus you'd have to baby-sit all of the children who're staying behind and McGonagall's going to be breathing down your neck, forcing you to participate in activities you don't want to."

"And that would be any different than your current suggestion?" Snape asked and Remus shrugged.

"You have an assistant."

"Changing the subject Lupin."

"You could bring her. I'm sure she'd like to come."

"I doubt she will have much_ say _on the subject," Snape muttered.

"No one's going to make fun of her or anything. She'll have a good time."

"This is more about the blasted girl isn't it?"

"Free Firewhiskey?" Remus attempted with a grin and Snape rolled his eyes.

"Just drink your damn potion."

"So you'll think about it?"

"Drink it!"

"Promise?"

"Yes I'll bloody think about it now just-!"

Remus laughed, feeling like he'd won the battle. He downed the potion with a grin and didn't even make a face as he handed it back to Snape.

"Aren't you going to tell me something about her? Before I start making weird assumptions?" Remus teased and Snape threw him a withering look.

"I never said I would be coming," came the blunt response.

"Can't you at least tell me her name?"

There was a sizable pause.

"Celty Sturluson."

"Great. Anything else you want me to tell me? How old is she?"

"Twelve," came the automatic reply.

Remus on the other hand couldn't resist commenting:

"Severus Snape is raising a _child_? Oh Merlin I wonder how she turned out."

BANG

Lupin quickly ducked a spell that had been aimed for his head by an infuriate Potion's master.

The spell flew harmlessly past him and managed to get absorbed by the bookshelf behind him but Remus was too busy laughing to give it a glance.

"I am not raising her. She looks after herself. I am her employer. I pay her for her services," Snape said bluntly as he turned on his heel and left the room.

Remus shrugged to himself before calling out:

"I pay Ted too. It's called an allowance!"

Snape chose to ignore the werewolf as he stalked out of the office.

Remus watched Snape leave muttering obscenities under his breath and he had to admit that maybe having a child around could change the man in ways no other person could.

_"Damn Severus. You don't stand a chance."_

But then he shrugged to himself. He'd worry about that later. All and all it hadn't been too bad. And he'd even managed to get a good few laughs in along the way. Maybe he'd be up to teach after all.

* * *

A few hours later Remus found his son and his two friends back in his office again. In the mean time, Teddy also found that they were just following up the entrance of none other than Rubeus Hagrid.

"So as I was sayin' Remus, I'd love to spend Christmas over but I'm afraid I have plans already," the giant continued looking awkwardly out of place in Remus' small, neat office.

"That's a shame," Remus said, motioning Teddy over for a second.

"Here," Remus said, giving his son the map much to Teddy's delight, "Let me know if it's buggy and please for the love of Merlin don't get into an trouble with it," he warned.

Hagrid on the other hand seemed to have been listening in on the conversation, laughed.

"Oh come now Remus. If there's one boy tha' I wouldn' believe could get into any trouble it's yers," he said, patting Teddy firmly on the back as he blushed.

"Oh trust me you'd be surprised," Remus said giving Teddy a knowing grin before turning back to his guest.

Teddy took that as his cue to leave, silently shuffling out of the office to Roy and Vic out in the hallway.

"I wish he'd stop saying that," Teddy muttered as they mounted the stairs to the Astronomy Tower.

"Why?" Vic asked, grinning faintly, "If I had a dad like yours I'd be damn proud," he said encouragingly.

Teddy blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yeah but when I screw up it's always him that gets reflected on."

Vic shrugged, "Then don't screw up. That's what we're here for Ted," the boy said, pointing firmly to Roy and himself.

Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah. As if that's going to help," he cried out sarcastically.

"To be honest I think you're the most likely to screw up than Ted," Roy said with a grin at his brother.

Vic gave them all a mock pout before the boys dissolved into laughter.

"Just you wait! One day you'll be begging me to save your asses from something and then I'll just laugh and say 'who's screwed up now huh?'" Vic cried before rushing off to the Astronomy roof.

Teddy and Roy exchanged a bemused glance before running off after him.

"So Ted. What're we going to do now that we have the map?" Vic asked, blowing on his hands a bit to keep them warm from the chilly night air.

The boys were now huddled on the roof of the Astronomy Tower, slight traces of snow had managed to coat the roof and Teddy found it hard not to shiver through his robes.

He should have brought his jacket.

"I dunno. It seemed like a good idea at the time," Teddy said with a small frown.

They had just received the map back from Teddy's father a few minutes ago and rushed to the Astronomy Tower to see what changes had been made.

It didn't look any different from Teddy's inspection but he was confident that it worked.

The only problem was. How did you _know_ it worked?

"Tell you what? I'll fly down there, go up to the grave and you can test if it works or not," Vic offered but Roy shook his head.

"Just wait until morning," he said, "we won't be able to determine-"

And Roy was cut off when the Map suddenly went off.

Everyone was so surprised they jumped and Ted almost slipped right off the roof.

"It's just Hagrid!" Roy insisted, having snatched the Map out of Teddy's hands.

The boys crowded around the piece of parchment as they watched the name "Rubeus Hagrid" standing at the patch of ground where Dumbledore's grave should have been.

"Well at least we know it works," Teddy said with a slightly satisfied nod. He carefully closed the map, allowing the half giant his privacy before rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

"You realize if that thing goes off during class we'll be screwed right?" Vic said with a frown and Teddy nodded.

"Well. The perpetrators seem to only do it during the night time," he supplied before he was interrupted when Vic sneezed.

Teddy laughed, "Come on. Let's get inside before we all get sick."

"You really want to catch these guys don't you," Vic teased and Teddy nodded determinedly.

"If they really are the guys who stole the cloak during the summer then I want to make them pay," Teddy said determinately, "Besides. They're messing around with Dumbledore's grave! That's just not right. Not when you consider what Dumbledore's done for all of us," he added and his friends nodded back.

Really though, Teddy wasn't really sure why he felt compelled to stop these people from getting their hands on the wand. It might be a strong sense of justice or maybe even revenge for all the trauma he'd experienced during the summer break. Even if the incident here and the one over the Cloak were two separate problems Teddy still wanted a go at it just to feel somewhat even with the bad guys and him.

Still, his mind couldn't help but filter back to Hagrid's words from a mere hour ago.

_"Oh come now Remus_. _If there's one boy tha' I wouldn' believe could get into any trouble it's yers."_

Teddy couldn't help but feel a strong sense of determination stem from those words. It was a driving force, a feeling of self worth that made Teddy toss all logic to the wind. He was going to catch the person defacing Dumbledore's tomb.

He was going to make his dad proud.

* * *

Time skip at the beginning because I don't know what to write that could make time transition faster. Snape bashing is fun! And I figure having a kid around him could make him loosen up more to be poked at *pokes* (I think it started with the whole Teddy babysitting thing) :P

Reviews appreciated!


	16. Psycho Killer

"Snake at 12:00," Vic muttered and Teddy quickly shoved the Marauder's Map into his bag as Snape made another pass of the classroom.

"Will you leave the bloody thing alone? The whole point of an alert system is so that it'll alert you," Vic protested as Teddy stole a glance behind him and took out the Map again.

"Shh," Ted whispered and Vic rolled his eyes muttering slightly under his breath.

Teddy ignored him. Over the past few days the total lack of excitement had made Teddy a bit paranoid. Something big was coming and Teddy had a feeling the trespassers would make their move soon. Call it a sixth sense if you would.

"Snake," Vic whispered again and Teddy rolled his eyes in a huff of irritation before adding some ginger root to his potion in front of him.

As Snape went to sit at his desk Teddy counted to ten before taking out the Map again.

His eyes did another sweep of the Map, the third one this period. There really wasn't much to look at. All students should have been in class. There were a few roaming the hallways and studying in the library but other than that the grounds were empty. Elves were in the kitchen, most likely preparing lunch. The ghosts were busy doing whatever the heck they normally do before disappearing off the map entirely as they phased out of the existing plane. Still, the one thing bothering Ted was the lone figure in the Hospital Wing.

_"Clarence Leonelli,"_ the Map read and Teddy couldn't help but think he'd heard that name somewhere.

It'd taken a few more sweeps of the Map for Teddy to remember.

"That's TK's friend. The creepy one that talks to himself," Teddy muttered as he watched the dot labelled "Madam Pomfrey" make her way up and down the aisle.

As Pomfrey rounded the corner and disappeared into her office Teddy noticed a few more dots suddenly appear in the Wing.

"_Ghosts,"_ Ted thought as he watched them float around before they, a bit surprisingly, crowded around Clair.

"Teddy?"

"Shh," Teddy whispered, distracted as he watched the sudden mass of ghosts suddenly swarm into the hospital wing.

"Hey. Teddy?"

Perhaps ghosts liked to pick on the new kids. Funny because Teddy and his friends rarely even saw a ghost in their first year. Maybe they were the lucky ones since Clair definitely looked like he had his hands full.

"Teeeddyyyy."

Or maybe it was something else entirely like a secret pact or just a party or maybe-

"TED!"

Startled, Ted jumped up and in his haste to shove the Map out of sight, he tipped over his potion, sending its contents spilling towards him. Trying to get out the way, Teddy tripped over his own feet and fell into the middle of the aisle as his classmates stared at his heroics.

Still slightly stunned, Teddy made a quick glance at Patty Thompson who had been sitting in the seat behind. She gave him an apologetic glance before Teddy quickly turned his head to face the impending doom coming behind him.

"Lupin," Snape growled and Teddy plastered the most innocent expression on his face that he could manage as he stared up at the frowning Potion's Master.

"Inherited your mother's clumsiness as expected."

Teddy blushed slightly as several people giggled which only seemed to irritate the Potion's Master more.

"Class dismissed. You. Clean up the mess," Snape snapped before turning on his heel and going to sit at his desk.

Teddy quickly scrambled to his feet as the class gave out several hoots of delight before making for the door.

"Good luck Ted," Vic told him as he packed his bag, "But thanks for letting us out early," he added.

"I'll save some food for you. Don't be too late!" Vic called out behind him.

Teddy grinned as Roy dragged his brother out of the class.

His grin quickly disappeared when he heard the footsteps coming from behind him.

"Cleaning supplies are in the cupboard. I expect this place spotless by the time I get back," Snape said stiffly as he walked past Ted and out the door.

The door closed behind him with a rather definite slam and Teddy was left standing there alone in the classroom.

With a sigh, he got to work. He figured he was lucky that Snape didn't feel like sticking around. Either he trusted Ted enough not to destroy anything in his absence or he just couldn't bear to see his ugly mug without having the urge to punch it in. Either reason was fine with Teddy.

"Although I do prefer the first one," Teddy muttered, opening the cupboard door and taking out the cleaning supplies.

"I really need Dad to teach me how to do Scourgify," he added as he got to work.

The next half an hour or so passed by surprisingly fast, Teddy didn't really mind the dungeons when its usual tenant wasn't there and it was rare for him to find himself alone given Hogwarts' huge population. Teddy liked being allowed to do things at his own pace and even then cleaning up his own mess had taken a much shorter time than he'd expected. The next few minutes and Ted had finished practically everything. He'd even dumped out the other students' potions, put away all the cauldrons and even wiped the tables.

_"That should do it,"_ Teddy thought to himself a bit proudly.

As he put the supplies away Ted started humming a little tune he'd heard on the wireless.

But the noise promptly stopped when he turned from the cupboard and found none other than Clair Leonelli staring at him from the aisle.

"Why are you here?" Clair accused and Teddy, still in shock, simple stared at the smaller boy. His eyes were still covered by his fringe but Teddy knew they were still narrowed in hostility.

"_I didn't even hear him come in!"_

"Why are you here?" Clair demanded again after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"Now hold on," Teddy interrupted, getting angry, "I should be the one asking that question. Why are _you_ here?"

There was silence on the other end before the other boy muttered.

"None of your business. Get out."

Teddy crossed his arms stubbornly, no way was this kid going to tell him what to do.

"I don't think so. Snape left me in charge of the classroom and you're not going anywhere."

Clair gritted his teeth; mouth curling into a near snarl and Teddy tried to refrain from laughing at him. It was just so ridiculous that this kid felt like he could waltz in here and start ordering people around.

There was a long pause as the two boys faced off against each other before Clair decided to give up. Seemingly ignoring Teddy, he took a few steps towards Snape's office before Teddy got there and blocked his path.

"Move please," Clair told him, obviously annoyed.

"Can't you just tell me what you're doing here?" Teddy asked, not really in the mood to start a fight but fearing Snape's wrath should he let Clair into his office.

"I have to get something for Madam Pomfrey," Clair gritted out after a pause and Teddy took a few minutes to process that information.

It made sense. He _had_ seen Clair in the Hospital Wing all period. Perhaps Pomfrey was sending him down for some of Snape's potions.

But something told Ted that there was very little chance Pomfrey would bring her patient down to fetch his own medicine. Pomfrey had a big reputation for being overprotective and firm with her patients.

"I'll come with you."

"No!" Clair demanded and Teddy raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

Clair seemed to notice and gave an irritated huff, "Just because your father's a teacher doesn't give you the right to act like one," he growled as he stalked off to Snape's office.

Teddy followed slowly behind Clair as they entered Snape's office. He supposed Clair had a point but he would be the one to get in trouble if Clair screwed something up and the last thing he needed was Severus Snape breathing down his neck.

"Look. I'm not trying to be an ass. It's just that I get in trouble if you screw something up," Teddy said pointedly, "And it doesn't matter who my dad is, he's got nothing to do with it."

Clair seemed to ignore Teddy for the most part, instead concentrating on Snape's desk, seemingly overflowing with various potions Teddy had never even seen before.

"I don't think you should-"

"SHUT. UP!" Clair shouted and Teddy bristled but Clair seemed to be coming into a rant "You should keep your big mouth shut if you're too stupid to figure things out for yourself. Didn't your father ever teach you to mind your own business?" the boy shouted, "I'm surprised he hasn't taken a gun at you and shot you dead by now. You're a disgrace to your family!"

And Teddy, who had never really been good with insults, refused to take this one lying down.

"Oi, just because _your_ father's a nutcase-!"

"TAKE THAT BACK," Clair demanded, slamming a fist onto the desk and spilling over some potions.

"What? The nutcase part?" Teddy rebutted. Clair's anger was contagious and Teddy suddenly felt the urge to kick and scream at the little runt.

"Well he must be if he's the one responsible for raising _you_," Teddy accused, taking sick pride in seeing Clair's face redden as the smaller boy tried to contain his fury. Teddy could practically feel Clair's eyes boring holes into him behind his fringe.

"You think I'm a disgrace? What about you?" Teddy said, voice close to shouting, "I'm not the one riffling through a teacher's potions stash. Your father taught you about being a disgrace because you _are_ one."

And Clair lunged. Really, Teddy was pretty surprised the boy managed to jump that far considering that there had been a desk between them.

As Snape's desk tipped over causing potions to go crashing to the floor, Teddy found the wind knocked out of him as Clair tackled him to the floor.

"Shut up!" Clair demanded, pinning Teddy to the floor as he reared back for a punch, "I'm not a disgrace!"

The first punch to his face had Teddy tasting blood already.

"I'll show you! I'll show all of you! Daddy loves me! He'd never leave me!" Clair shouted a bit hysterically as Ted felt his cheekbone being smashed in again.

Really, he was larger than Clair and should be able to easily throw the boy off but he found himself momentarily distracted by the look of pure insanity that had begun to spread over Clair's face.

From his angle on the floor, Ted could see Clair's face a lot better. Wide, bloodshot eyes bore into Teddy's own. His pale face was twisted with a maniacal grin and Teddy couldn't help but stare in mild fear of dangerously sharp canines barely visible past Clair's thin lips.

"_Wait a minute-"_

The third punch to his face had Teddy's thoughts momentarily distracted again and by the time Clair swung back to deliver another blow, Teddy figured he'd had enough.

He'd seen Vic and Roy fight thousands of times, even going as far as sparring before breakfast to stay active.

Teddy decided to take a page out of their books and grab Clair's fist as it was coming down. Wrenching the arm away caused Clair to lean a bit too far over Ted who managed to knee the boy in the stomach with a successful grunt.

With the wind knocked out of his opponent, Teddy grabbed Clair's shirt collar and rolled over, slamming Clair into the ground as he became the one pinned down.

"Get off!" Clair screamed at him in fury but Teddy held the other boy down.

"Psycho kid!" Ted shouted.

"Teacher's pet!"

"Nut case!"

"Half-breed!" Clair screamed back at him.

"Oh yeah like _that_ one's new," Teddy said sarcastically, "At least I'm not a bloody loony!"

"I can destroy you," Clair growled threateningly and Teddy scoffed at him.

"And that _doesn't_ make you a loony?"

"I'm not a loony!" Clair shouted, finally managing to squirm out of Teddy's grasp. A rather vicious uppercut had Teddy rearing back and both boys quickly stood up, facing each other with angry glares.

"Just you wait Theodore Lupin," Clair seethed at him, eyes one again hidden beneath his fringe. "You think all your bloody connections make you so big? I'll destroy every one of them until you're nothing but some stupid kid with stupid hair. Then we'll see who the loony is!"

"That loony comment really got you huh?" Teddy said with a snicker. He really couldn't help it. The nut job in front of him was just _asking_ for it.

Clair on the other hand probably didn't like Teddy humouring him because his scowl deepened and Teddy found himself once again being slammed into the ground.

"Die!" Clair shouted but Teddy rolled over and kicked Clair in the gut.

"Screw you," Teddy mumbled as he tackled Clair to the ground again.

"I'm better than you!"

"Keep dreaming kid."

The two scuffled throughout the small office, not really caring if they crashed into something or knocked things over anymore.

"At least my father isn't a social outcast!" Clair finally shouted.

That seemed to hit a nerve somewhere with Ted.

"At least my father loves me!" Teddy shouted back, punctuating that sentence with a punch to Clair's face.

Clair let out a maniacal laugh.

"You don't even know the meaning of the word!"

Teddy growled, "And you do?"

"Oh course!" Clair declared triumphantly, "Because my father loves me!"

Teddy rolled his eyes as he was pinned to the floor by the other boy.

"That doesn't change the fact that you-"

And Teddy froze.

Because from his angle sprawled on the floor, with Clair sitting on his stomach and the coppery tang of blood in his mouth. Teddy could just make out the figure of Severus Snape standing by the doorway.

And judging by his almost casual lean against the doorframe, Teddy figured he'd been waiting for a while.

Clair seemed to have noticed too as he quickly turned his head to face the new intruder, freezing a bit as he saw the Potions Master.

Silence seemed to descend like a fog around the occupants of the room.

"Clair. Needed to get a potion," Teddy said after a long pause and Clair quickly got up.

There was another long silence.

"I see," Snape said at last, almost calmingly as Teddy scrambled to his feet.

"It was...a misunderstanding..." Teddy continued before an idea blossomed into my head.

"You can read my mind," he said, pointing to his head.

Snape stared at him and Teddy looked determinedly back. There was no way he was going to be blamed for Clair's actions without a fight. It was doubtful Snape would let him off scot-free but at least it might stop any future detentions with the boy standing next to him.

Really though, he had to stop letting Snape free access into his mind. He'd done it before last year and even though Teddy really didn't have anything important to hide, it was still a bit scary what could be unearthed.

"Out," Snape said, pointing to the door and Teddy was shaken out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" came Teddy's not so elegant reply.

"Lupin. Out," Snape repeated and Teddy blinked back at the adamant Potions Master before he shoved all questions aside and meekly shuffled out the door.

The door behind Teddy shut with a definite slam and Teddy stared at the door for a few second before heading back to grab his bag and rush out of the classroom.

Maybe Snape had been at the door for a lot longer than Teddy had thought...

Teddy gave a silent shiver at the thought as he ran up the stairs of the dungeons and headed for the Great Hall.

If he was lucky, he'd be able to catch up with Vic for a fast lunch.

"What the bloody hell happened to you?" Vic asked through a mouth full of pasta. It seemed he and Patty had managed to strike up a conversation at lunch and upon Teddy's arrival, both of them turned to stare at the boy.

"Don't ask," Teddy sighed.

He self consciously touched a bruise on his cheek, wincing slightly as he sat down.

"Your nose is bleeding," Patty said, handing Teddy her napkin from her seat beside Vic.

"Thanks."

"We don't have to drag you to Pomfrey do we?" Vic teased and Teddy instantly leapt to his feet.

"That's right!" Teddy exclaimed and Vic and Patty looked surprised at his outburst. "Clair what's his face. That creepy kid that hangs out with TK. Remember him? We met at the library," Teddy pressed and Vic nodded.

"Yeah. I remember. What about him?"

"He was at the Hospital Wing during class. I saw his name on the Map. Then after class he came down to the potions room and said he needed a potion from Snape. Only I was in there and I didn't want to get into trouble if he messed something up so I went with him."

"So you got owned by a first year?" Vic asked incredulously and Teddy gave a huff of irritation.

"Hey. He doesn't look too spiffy either. Plus I got off scot-free," Teddy said hurriedly and Vic shrugged.

"Dully noted."

Teddy nodded back before rushing on.

"Anyways. When I asked him, Clair that is, what he was doing he got all defensive and when we were fighting I got a closer look at his face. Remember how he looks really pale and skinny? Well. He's got these really sharp canines," Teddy said, pointing to his own teeth, "And his eyes are all blood shot and creepy. Like some psycho wild animal. And he's not really mentally sane either..."Teddy trailed off as he noticed his friends staring at him with dumbfounded expressions.

Ted stamped his foot impatiently on the ground "Don't you get it?" Teddy asked and he was greeted with equally bland looks.

"Get what?" Vic asked, raising and eyebrow and Teddy rolled his eyes before quickly sitting down and leaning forward.

"Being sick, looking for potions, being all secretive, looking all pale and skinny, pointy canines," Teddy whispered, ticking off each fact off his fingers.

"I think Clair is a werewolf!"

And down at the dungeons, Severus Snape sat at his desk with Clarence Leonelli standing before it. As Snape recited school rules, deducted House points and handed out detentions, he failed to catch Clair carefully lick blood off his knuckles before grinning manically.

"_Delicious!"_

* * *

OK. I know it's been ages. But what can I say? My summer SUCKED. Seriously. When you stick a kid into doing her two least favourite activities in the world (life guarding/swimming & piano). Plus math cram school every other day for 4 hours. It's not fun. Oh. And my dad (after like 2 years) found out I "waste my time writing shit on the Internet instead of studying." So what's he do? Chuck my laptop at the wall in a fit of rage successfully snapping off my USB key and leaving me with Nothing. Nadda. Zero. So yeah. I don't have many files from 2010/2011 including fanfic and all summer I was too busy to rewrite all the stuff I had written but didn't post.

On another note. I got mail. Which is weird I guess since no one reviews but you guys go through all the effort to message me when I haven't even logged in in 3 months :P Anyways. I got some questions. I can't remember who sent them now or what they originally said but here's some answers:

**Q: Why are all your names taken from other shows?**

**A:** Why not? :P At first it was because I was too lazy to think of names and it's not like this will ever be published text. Back then though, I never thought my fanfic would be +30 chapters and have a sequel! Now. It's fun. I think of a character. Then I go around and think of other characters I know/like with similar personalities or family situations. Sometimes they pair up pretty well. Sometimes not so much but t I can draw and edit where the similarities start and end which is fun. Just a little something that makes me more interested in my own writing.

**Q: Why Bobo?**

**A:** I really laughed when I read this. XD "Bobo" is a short form of a last name that no one can ever pronounce right the first time (or maybe even the 100th time after that). Inside joke. Nuff said. (Hi Bobo!).

Finally. I can't promise you I'll update as frequently as I did before but I will update. Everything's in my head. Has been for ages. I just need to have a good sit down and write it all out. Problem? I'm in my last year of high school so school is my main focus...

And just so you guys don't come after me with pitchforks again I'll try to keep epic cliffhangers to a minimum. Or at least update faster with the next chapter.

If you actually bothered to read this ridiculously long AN, review! :)


	17. Clarence Leonelli

"He's not a werewolf Ted," Roy said with finality a week later as the boys gathered in a corner of the library. Ted had been maintaining his idea of Clair being a werewolf for a while now but slowly doubt was creeping in as time wore on. For starters, the brothers were quite disbelieving of the fact.

"Surely if there was a werewolf at Hogwarts your dad would have said something. He's a teacher. He'd know," Vic had pointed out at first.

It was also very difficult to keep track of Clair at all. Being a first year, Teddy never saw him in class. Being a Hufflepuff, Teddy never saw him during meal times or in the common rooms. Clair was never in the library, on the grounds or even wandering the hallways.

In fact, according to the Map, Clair was only ever in two places: The Hufflepuff common rooms by the kitchens, and, slightly more unsettling, in Professor Heartfilia's class.

In fact, that was where Clair was now as Teddy told his two best friends more about his suspicions. Not about Clair being a werewolf anymore but more about Clair in general.

"Either way, I talked to TK when you first mentioned it," Roy said, having supposedly done more research than Ted had, "He says he sees Clair every day and he's never once been sick. Pomfrey doesn't even know who Clair is and the Wolfsbane stash Snape keeps in his office has stayed the same. Snape's only brewing for one werewolf and I'm sure the rest of the school knows which one that is."

He's just naturally pale and creepy," Vic finished with a shrug.

Teddy in turn sighed.

"Fine. Clair's not a werewolf. But there's still something weird about him. All this time I've never seen him in class."

"Maybe he's some genius that he doesn't have to go to class," Vic said and Teddy gave him a disbelieving look.

"Why don't you just ask TK?" Roy asked and Ted shrugged.

"I dunno. Won't he find it weird that we're constantly asking questions about his friend? Things could get messy."

"Never know unless you try."

"And speak of the devil here he is now," Vic suddenly said excitedly, "Oi TK!"

Several people gave the boys glares for being so loud in the library and Roy quickly shushed his brother.

Ted turned around and spotted the boy with Kari waving back at Vic and approaching the table.

"Hey guys what's up?" TK asked when the kids got there, depositing some of their books onto the table.

"Where's Clair?" Teddy asked casually and TK shrugged.

"Clair's doing some work for Professor Heartfilia. Why?"

"Oh nothing. We just see him hanging around with you pretty often," Vic said with a grin as Roy hastily changed the topic while motioning for the other two to sit down.

"Homework?"

TK and Kari nodded with a rather depressing sighs as they stared down at his books," Yeah. With Christmas coming up all the teachers want to just throw their assignments at us."

"Trust me we know what it's like," Teddy said with an added eye roll and Kari gave him a smile.

"Speaking of Christmas what're you guys going to do over the break? It's just a few weeks away. Excited?" Vic said, throwing an arm around TK's shoulders.

"We'll probably be staying here for Christmas," Kari said in her gentle voice, "Travis has O. so he wants to stay and study." TK nodded, "Yeah and my mom's out of the country again so I figured I'd stay here with Matt."

"Aww sticking with your bros to keep them company. Cute," Vic said with a laugh as Kari blushed.

"Well it's not much of a Christmas if you spend it alone," She mumbled, embarrassed.

"Well I'm sure your brothers would really appreciate it," Roy said and Teddy nodded in agreement.

"Well enough of that. Come on or we'll be late for dinner!" Vic said, standing up and collecting all the books off the table.

"TK and I will check these out. You guys head on over to the Hall," Vic said, waving with his free arm as he lead Teddy over to the check out.

Teddy waved back as the two rounded a corner and stood up to leave as well before a gently tug on his sleeve diverted his attention back to the other first year at the table.

"What's up Kari?" he asked as Roy finished packing up.

"Um. Well. I've noticed you've been asking TK a lot of questions about Clair," Kari stammered nervously and Teddy and Roy shot each other quick glances across the table.

"I'm not offended by it or anything," Kari hastily said, letting go of Teddy's sleeve.

"It's just that. Well. I thought you should know. There's something weird about him. You should be careful..." Kari trailed off awkwardly.

"And why's that?" Roy asked hesitantly as Teddy failed to reply in his confusion.

"Well. I just thought you should know but he's really...off...he doesn't seem to talk to anyone but TK. He eats with us and hangs out with us on the grounds but I've never once seen him go to class or do homework or-or..." Kari gave Ted a hesitant look.

"Or what?" Teddy prodded gently, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well. We've been at school for three months by now but not once have I seen Clair use any magic," Kari finished and Roy and Ted once again shot each other surprised looks.

"Have you talked to TK about it?" Roy asked when the silence began to stretch out too long.

"Well no," Kari admitted, "He and Clair seem to get along pretty well and I didn't want to break up their friendship for something so silly."

Ted had to admit she had a point.

"I just needed to tell someone," Kari continued sheepishly.

"Well thanks for telling us," Teddy said with an nod, "Don't worry about Clair. We'll look out for him."

"And we won't mention any of this to TK," Roy agreed.

Kari gave a relieved sigh as thanks.

"Now come on or we'll be late for dinner, the other two are gonna wonder what's taking us so long," Teddy said, leading Kari to the library exit.

"There you are Ted. What took so long?" Vic asked as Teddy said goodbye to Kari and Roy as they went to their respective places; Kari to the first years end of the Gryffindor table and Roy to the Slytherins.

"Long story. Remind me to tell you when we get to our room," Teddy said as he sat down.

Vic gave him a raised eyebrow.

"Let's just say that You Know Who isn't off the hook just yet," Ted said and Vic gave a shrug and let matters drop.

Dinner went smoothly as usual until there was a sharp tapping of a glass from the teacher's table signaling for everyone's attention.

Teddy and Vic looked up from their food to see Professors Bobo and Logan rising to give an announcement.

"All right. Everyone settle down for a minute. How's everyone enjoying the last few days of school?"

The majority of the students groaned loudly and Bobo grinned.

"I know. I know. We swamped you with a huge ton of assignments this year didn't we?" she shouted to the school.

An even louder groan of agreement.

"Right well. We figured since we're all so overworked we'd do something different for a change this Christmas," Proffesor Logan interrupted.

"Right. Logan and I were talking and we let's face it. We're bored of the usual Christmas traditions," Bobo continued.

"And don't you all want to get back at your horrible teachers for giving you so much homework?"

"So. In a week's time we'll be hosting a night game of Capture The Flag. Students against Teachers. If students win you all those participating get a 2% raise to your marks. If teachers win then. Oh, all you kids are gonna be doomed," Bobo said with a grin much to the splendid delight of all the students as a huge roar of approval filled the halls.

Teddy shook Vic slightly in his excitement.

"A 2% raise to all our subjects? That's awesome!" Ted shouted happily over the noise as they joined in on the racket.

After a while, a series of red and green sparks filled the room as Bobo and Logan tried to make order.

"I think that turned out pretty well," Logan said with a grin.

"Anyways. Safety is a priority but don't blame us if you accidentally go for a swim in the lake. Other rules and sign ups are with your respective prefects. Headmistress McGonagall and the prefects will be responsible for judging. Don't worry prefects. You'll get awarded for your work too," Bobo said.

"Now good night! Hope to see the lot of you next week!"

"Sign me up!" Vic said proudly as the rest of the hall filled with noise at the new Christmas event.

"Come on let's go find Matt. I can't wait till next week!"

Teddy laughed at his friend practically bolted out the Hall along with several others rushing to sign up.

He spotted Roy at the other end of the Hall who gave him a smirk and Teddy gave him a thumbs up in return. Roy always skipped Herbology and Astronomy so Teddy was sure he'd be entering just to save those marks from going down any further.

And then an idea came to Ted and he managed to spot his father talking to Croswell at the teacher's table.

Their eyes met and a wicked gleam showed in Ted's eye.

"You're going down Dad!" Teddy mouthed and a smug look passed over Remus' face.

_"We'll see about that son."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the week passed relatively quickly as the growing anticipation for the event and the huge demand of homework kept everyone busy.

More than half the school crowded into Dueling Club practice that week and several people had taken to dueling out in the grounds. Groups were formed amongst the students and tactics drawn up.

Teddy and his friends had also gotten swept up in the wave as well especially since Roy and Vic had abilities that the older students knew could be used to their advantage. Throughout it all, Teddy's thoughts of Clair or anyone else really had been pushed back to the back of his mind until finally, the last day of classes before the break ended and students crowded the Hogwarts grounds.

The prefects and teachers had done a pretty good job at preparing. A large row of stands had been erected for the students that would rather watch than fight.

Judging platforms were erected for the judges and lights had been charmed to magically light up the grounds although a majority of the field still remained cloaked in the night shadows.

"All right. Everyone knows how this works right?" Logan said, standing rather precariously on a broom above the field.

"The rules are simple. Find the other team's flag and get it back to your side of the field. The team who does that or manages to knock out the rest of the other team wins. Everyone's been equipped with magic tracers so the judges will know exactly where you are. If you're hit with a spell you're out," Logan explained to a rather loud grumble by the students.

"That's not fair if you're just hit with one spell?" someone shouted.

"If it's any consolation if we're hit with a spell we're also out," Logan insisted before continuing, "Now. All tricks and spells are permitted within reason. You can use any inch of the Hogwarts grounds but use your best judgement. Nothing stupid. We want things safe here but if you do get injured or stuck, you or someone around you immediately send up red sparks and the prefects will come and collect you. Understood?"

There was a chorus of the affirmative from the crowd below.

"Right then!" Logan said, sitting down again on her broom and whisking off, "Start the countdown!" she called as magically, huge numbers were projected onto the field counting down from 20.

"Ready Remus?" Bobo whispered as they watched the countdown several paces away from the mass of students.

Remus looked up from his position crouched against a tree and blew on his hands to try to warm them up. Even though there was little snow this winter the temperature at night was still low enough to make him shiver.

"We are so going to lose this," he sighed between breaths and Bobo gave him a mock frown.

"Oh come now where's your Marauder spirit?" she teased.

"Hmm. I must have left it back in the castle next to a steaming cup of hot chocolate," Remus replied back with a grin.

"If you're cold don't worry. You'll warm right up once they start shooting hexes at you. You haven't taught them anything lethal have you?"

"I haven't. Goodness knows what Xavia's taught some of her old students though," Remus said with a wince only to catch a figure moving in the darkness and giving a bark of laughter.

"For the record I can't believe you two convinced Severus to take part in this."

Bobo gave him a wicked grin, "It took some bribing but we did it. Now, remember the plan?" she said as the countdown finally ended and student's feet could be heard pounding towards them.

"I thought the plan was to just run around wands ablazing," Remus said as he too got up and took out his wand.

"Hey don't make fun of the plan. We spent a lot of effort on that," Bobo said with a laugh and Remus grinned.

"More than the effort it took to get Severus to join us?"

"Definitely more. Severus is so easy to wind up you'd be surprised," came the sweet reply.

"Oh trust me I think I know. I've spent four decades doing it myself," Remus laughed as he and Bobo quickly took aim for the many lamps lighting up the field.

_"Nox"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The instant the countdown started, Teddy and his friends quickly split up.

"I'm gonna go on ahead," Vic said. He'd brought the omnioculars that he'd received at Christmas last year with him so no doubt he'd be able to help the lead force of students in locating the teachers and their flag.

Teddy and Roy on the other hand made a beeline for the edge of the Forbidden Forest where they were easily able to melt into the shadows.

Teddy quickly took out the Marauder's Map and had just said the incantation when suddenly all the lights in the field went out.

"I can't see a thing!" Teddy exclaimed and Roy used his fire magic to create a gentle flame burning in the palm of his hand.

"They took out the lights. That'll surely leave the students running around more," Roy said with a smirk.

"Yeah but now they won't be able to see us coming," Ted said with a smirk as he looked over his map.

There were so many students running around that the names were starting to mesh together on the Map.

"Everyone's chasing after Logan," he said, pointing to her dot that was busy leading a whole trail of other dots behind her. No doubt she'd not given up the broom and Teddy noticed that several students must have also Accio'd their brooms to them as they were gaining speed towards her.

Teddy watched for a while before refocusing his attention to the task at hand.

"Found him!" Teddy said proudly after a while, poking at a dot marked Remus Lupin by the Whomping Willow.

"Do you wanna split? I see Snape's closer by." Roy said, pointing to Snape's dot and Teddy gave a wicked grin.

"Great. Now I don't know whether to go after my dad or Snape," Teddy said with a laugh.

"Go after your dad. Snape would probably give you detention if anyone dared fire a spell at him," Roy said with a grin evident in his voice before he let his flame die off and the boys were plunged into darkness once more.

"Don't get lost," Roy said giving Ted a pat on the back as he silently slipped off.

"Mischief managed," Ted muttered before slipping the Map back into his cloak and heading in the opposite direction. He couldn't wait to take this opportunity to prank his father.

Teddy had almost reached the end of the Forest before the Map began to chime noisily in his pocket making him jump almost a foot in the air.

"Quiet down what's wrong with you?" Ted hissed, quickly opening it to get it to stop making the racket.

He quickly ran back into the safety of the Forest thicket before anyone saw him as he was deep in teacher territory by now.

That's when he remembered the charm he had placed on the Map telling it to chime whenever someone went by Dumbledore's tomb.

Heart quickening, Teddy took out his wand.

"Lumos," he muttered as he quickly scanned the Map.

And low and behold. The name that appeared before him was none of than the one person Teddy suspected most:

Clarence Leonelli.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_"I knew it. That bastard!"_ Teddy said, stashing the Map back into his pocket as he made a dash for the tomb, the Capture the Flag game completely forgotten.

He met a few students on his way over but they more or less ignored him as he dashed past them.

Finally, reaching the edge of the Black Lake, panting for breath, Teddy ground to a halt. There weren't any students this far away from the main field and Teddy felt like this area of Hogwarts had dropped a good ten degrees in temperature as he cautiously made his way through the blanket of fog that had suddenly encased the area.

_"What's with all this fog?"_

It was a new moon tonight and the lack of light plus the fog made it damn near impossible for Teddy to see where he was going even with the light emanating from the tip of his wand.

"Clair!?" Teddy risked a shout. Squinting through the thicket of fog.

"I know you're there! Come on out!" Ted shouted yet again, wand raised.

He heard a rustle of leaves to his left and Teddy spun around but couldn't see anything but dark shadows twisting and circulating around him.

CRACK

Ted jumped and spun around towards the noise. It had definitely come from the direction of the tomb; loud and piercing.

Abandoning all caution he ran towards it, the spray from the lake made the rocks slippery and he slipped twice before finding a grassy patch to regain his footing on.

The tomb loomed in front of him and Teddy held his breath has he stared at what he could make of it through the fog and darkness. The tomb had been slit open right down the middle , half of it in a mess of rubble and the other caving into the darkness inside.

Teddy's horror was quickly directed into rage as he heard feet pounding behind him as the culprit no doubt made his escape.

Turning around, he fired a blast of red sparks into the air, illuminating the field he stood in.

A dark figure amongst the fog lit up from the added light and Teddy gave a cry of rage as he tackled the culprit from behind.

"Clair! You son of a bitch!"

A shout of surprise and rage was heard as Ted struggled to find purchase on the slippery rocks surrounding the outskirts of Dumbledore's final resting place.

A fist was slammed into Ted's face, much too strong to have been from some scrawny 11 year old and Ted was soon tasting blood from a split lip.

A knee into Ted's stomach had him doubling over, groping for his wand that he had dropped during the tackle.

The fog was too thick to see much of anything though and the search for his wand was quickly dropped as Ted was thrown onto his back, knocking the breath out of him.

_"He's too strong!"_ Ted realized.

Unwilling to let go of his captor though, Ted fought back with fists and kicks until his hand grasped onto something and he pulled. Hard.

Whatever it was came loose much too easily to Ted's surprise and he overbalanced and slipped on the rocks, cracking his head on one and stunning him for a good few minutes.

As he lay there, watching the fog's shadows twist and fade around him he became aware of shouts from the distance and he noticed that his opponent had already fled.

He noticed whatever he'd grabbed onto was still in his hand and he blinked down at it. It was a sharp, thin tooth necklace and Teddy sucked in a breath when he noticed that there was writing carved into the side. It was the same sort of necklace he'd seen on the Muggle man that had invaded his home during the summer.

_"Clair's part of this whole thing!"_

And with a feeling of anger spilling through his throbbing head Ted finally closed his eyes and allowed himself to pass out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X

"I won' believe it Remus. Not Ted. Never Ted. E wouldn do some'in like tha'."

Teddy awoke with a groan as his head throbbed painfully.

"Eh look. Lad's wakin' up."

Ted opened his eyes to find himself in an immediately uncomfortable position in the Hospital Wing. Hagrid stood next the foot of his bed, Remus sitting on it as they talked. The Headmistress and Pomfrey, having been signalled over once they found Teddy had awoken, stood to his left and Teddy could make out Snape hovering a few feet behind them.

And Teddy bit back a gulp as they realizes all five grownups were staring at him.

"I'm in trouble aren't I?" Teddy squeaked, looking worriedly at his father.

Remus in turn sighed.

"How are you feeling Ted?" he asked instead as Teddy gently prodded his still aching head.

"Better..." he said slowly.

"Would you then care to tell us how we found you passed out in front of the old Headmaster's tomb that has been, rather unfortunately, split open and robbed?" Remus asked quietly and Teddy straighted in panic.

"Wait. I know that looks bad but it wasn't me!" Teddy said defensively, eyes wide.

Remus sighed again.

"No seriously. It wasn't me! I just- I just..." Ted trailed off, making quick glances to the adults around him before closing his eyes and giving a sigh. He couldn't really explain himself if he was going to continue keeping secrets. He spent a second debating about it before deciding to come clean. There was no way he wanted to be known for the one that broke into Dumbledore's tomb. The very thought made him shudder.

"Ok. Well there's this kid. His name's Clarence Leonelli and he's...well...kind of a creep," Ted admitted slowly, focusing on no one but his father.

"So I started following him thinking he was up to something. Then Hagrid told me that someone was breaking into the tomb so I figured they were looking for the Elder Wand which makes sense cuz we had people looking for the Invisibility Cloak in the summer time. Then tonight seemed like the best time someone would make a move on the tomb so I thought I'd try and catch the bad guy which I was pretty sure was Clair. I was trying to stop him Dad honest. I just...wanted to make you proud..." Teddy mumbled, having broken off his eye contact with his father and was now fidgeting with the hospital blanket draped over him.

Remus heaved a final sigh before daring to risk a glance at the Headmistress.

McGonagall met his eyes and motioned to the distraught Teddy as if saying "Do something already," before she and Poppy moved away from the bed, speaking with Snape in hushed whispers.

In an instant Remus had shifted up the length of the bed and crushed a surprised Teddy into a hug.

"I've always been proud of you," he whispered, "But you don't have to go playing the hero all the time. If something's wrong you have to tell me or a teacher understand?"

Teddy nodded against his father's chest.

There was an cough from behind them and the two Lupin's quickly separated.

McGonagall had approached them again, holding a long sheet of parchment that she had no doubt summoned from her office.

"Did you say you believed a Clarence Leonelli was the culprit?" she asked and Teddy nodded.

"Yeah. He was the one who told me the Elder Wand was in the tomb. He seems to know a lot about it and he's a real psycho," Ted said before realizing what he said and turning quickly to his father.

"Uh. I mean. Well. He's just acts really suspicious all the time," he corrected.

"There is no Clarence Leonelli on the student roster," McGonagall interrupted before Remus could reprimand his son and all eyes turned once again to her.

"And indeed I have never heard of the name," McGonagall had said as both Pomfrey and Hagrid seemed to screw up their faces in concentration.

"I get many students here over the weeks but no one with such a name," Pomfrey said and Hagrid nodded.

"What?!" Teddy said, turning again to his father who also shook his head in the negative. He too had never heard of the name.

"Snape's seen him," Teddy said, motioning the Potions teacher standing behind them all.

"That time I spilt my cauldron and you made me clean it up? We had a little uhh disagreement in your office and you found us remember?" Teddy asked, hoping his father wouldn't dwell too much on said "disagreement."

Snape frowned slightly in through before he nodded. "Yes, I remember the boy. Skinny, pale with bloodshot eyes and vibrant red lips. He did not give me a name however..." Snape paused, thinking as all the other occupants of the Hospital Wing stared at him. "Yet now that I think about it I don't believe I'd seen him before. He said he was in first year and at the time I had not acquainted myself with the large number of this year's first years so I didn't dwell on it. "

Well at least Snape was able to confirm such a boy existed.

"Well he says he's in Hufflepuff. He's a first year and he's friends with TK," Teddy spoke up, "That's Tomi... - uh- can't pronounce his last name. It's japanese." He finished lamely."He's also acquaintances with Kari King and I've seen him with Professor Heartfilia."

McGonagall frowned at the student roster list once more before vanishing it with a flick of her wrist.

"I will speak to Mr. Kadokawa, Ms King and Professor Hearfilia," she said."Severus, Remus, please let the rest of the staff know that we'll be having a quick meeting tomorrow morning before the break. Let them know that we have an illegal student at Hogwarts."

Snape and Lupin both nodded as Pomfrey got busy fussing over Teddy's head and the other teachers made towards the door until only Remus remained amongst them.

"So...I'm not in trouble?" Ted asked, nervously glancing at his father.

"No. I don't believe you are," Remus replied with a slight grin as his son took a rather nasty looking potion from Pomfrey.

"Well in that case. What happened to the event?" Teddy asked, curiosity getting the better of him as he leaned closer to his father.

Remus rolled his eyes.

"As expected Teddy. We got thoroughly annihilated," Remus said and Teddy's whoop of laughter soon resonated through the rest of the Hospital Wing.


	18. Christmas

"Yeah so the Gryffindors got Logan first. No one can beat our Quidditch team," Vic rambled on during breakfast with the help of fellow first year Patty Thompson.

"Yeah and the Ravenclaws had Bobo and Croswell surrounded," Patty said with a giggle, "The hardest to take out were Sloane and your dad. For old guys they're pretty good. It took like the whole school to bring them down," Patty continued and Teddy gave her a grin full of pride.

"Too bad we didn't last long enough to see Snape go. I wanted to see the look on his face!" Vic said with a laugh.

"I hear Roy was part of that one," Ted pointed out and Vic nodded, "Yeah. He said he'll tell us all about it later. What happened to you anyways. You didn't even make it to your dad?"

"I got hit by a spell! It was over before I knew it," Teddy complained in a mock pout.

"Aww cheer up Ted. They'll be other times," Vic said giving him a thump on the back in sympathy.

Ted was stopped from replying when the Headmistress at the teacher's table stood up, banging on her glass a few times to get the Hall's attention.

"Well it seems that Christmas is well under way now," McGonagall started, "But first I would like to start off by making everyone aware of an incident that occurred last night. Sometime in the excitement of last night, our old Headmaster Dumbledore's tomb was robbed," she started as several students gasped and others dissolved into hushed whispers.

McGonagall once again tapped her glass to get the room to quiet down.

"Within it were several important artifacts belonging to the late Headmaster and we would very much like to catch the culprit. I doubt that any student at Hogwarts would do such a thing and I've had a witness confirm that this thief is not a Hogwarts student," McGonagall revealed, "As much as I hate to admit it but I believe the security of this castle has been compromised. I advise everyone to be cautious this beak. We will be checking student names beginning tonight and raising our level of security over the break. If anyone knows anything about this incident please contact one of the staff or myself immediately."

"It was Lupin!" someone shouted and Teddy stiffened.

"Yeah! We saw him go to the tomb last night!" someone else shouted but McGonagall raised a quick hand.

"Teachers and myself have questioned Mr Theodore Lupin last night. We found Mr Lupin unconscious at the scene of the crime and none of the tomb's artifacts were on his person. He was attempting to stop the culprit and has been deemed innocent by the staff," McGonagall said as Teddy fidgeted uncomfortably when he saw everyone turn their heads to stare at him.

"Again, anything suspicious should be brought to your teachers' attentions," McGonagall went on, diverting the school's attention once more.

"Aside from this however, I believe the students last night should be congratulated for their achievement at defeating their teachers. I believe a toast is in order," she said with a faint smile.

"To the students!" the Hall erupted, raising their goblets of pumpkin juice and cheering.

Vic joined in with whistles and Patty gave Ted a quick pat on the arm, "Don't worry. I don't think anyone's gonna believe that _the _Teddy Lupin robbed Dumbledore's tomb. Especially if McGonagall thinks you're innocent," she said and Teddy gave her a weak smile in thanks.

"Yeah Ted cheer up! It's Christmas!" Vic shouted over the din as the Hall continued to cheer.

"And with that, I and the rest of your teachers wish you all a safe and happy holidays," McGonagall said over the noise and the volume went up tenfold as even Teddy joined in on the cheering.

The rest of the day passed quickly, many students had left for home right after breakfast and Teddy and his friends had retreated to Remus' office as the teacher's had their own little meeting before the break.

"Yo Ted!" Logan said, walking into the room an hour later carrying a large suitcase.

"You're staying over?" Ted asked excitedly as Croswell and Bobo also made their way into the room with their own suitcases.

"Sure. Free food? Wouldn't miss it for the world," Logan said with a grin, "Thanks for inviting us."

"The more the merrier." Ted said happily, "The Weasley's are in France this Christmas so it'll be kind of lonely without the usual lot."

He was genuinely happy the three teachers would be staying over for Christmas break. Despite being his teachers, Logan, Bobo and Croswell were more like friends outside the school environment and got along well with Remus and Tonks. They'd been over a few times in the past and Teddy enjoyed their company as well.

"Who else is coming?" Ted asked his dad who had also weaselled his way into the room.

"Harry said he'd pop in before heading to France. Kinglsey will be popping in. Sirius is staying," Remus started as his son gave a whoop of delight. He hadn't seen his uncle in years.

"Helena and Q can also join us and we managed to convince Severus to come."

"You invited Snape?" Ted asked, slightly horrified and Remus shrugged.

"He's not evil Ted."

Teddy in turn shuddered but didn't push the issue.

"Anyone else?"

"Severus will be bringing a girl with him. About your age," Remus continued and Teddy and his friends shared a quick glance.

"A kid raised by Snape?" Vic asked, sounding horrified as Teddy and Roy laughed.

"Be nice boys," Remus said with a sigh and Teddy nodded, "Yeah we know we know Dad. Anyone else?"

"Well..." Remus mumbled, shuffling awkwardly, "Professor Heartfilia will be joining us. She overheard my invitations to the others and pressed the issue."

"You got bullied into inviting that woman?" Bobo asked, slightly shocked.

"I'm sure she won't be much trouble. She hasn't bothered me all term," Remus said with a shrug and Ted frowned.

It was true that unlike Xavia, Professor Heartfilia was much more civil and kind towards his father and her students. Still, there was something about her that was slightly off.

"Wait. Speaking of Professor Heartfilia did she say anything about Clair?" Teddy asked and Remus shook his head.

"She said some typical stuff. She saw Clair had potential as a student but was having some social issues so she made him her assistant. She said she had no idea he wasn't actually a student and she never knew he didn't attend any other classes."

"I think she's lying," Teddy mumbled but Remus again shrugged.

"We'll never know Ted but no more talk about this, get into the Floo already or your mother will be wondering where all her guests are," he said with a grin.

Teddy grinned back at him as he grabbed his friends and clambered into the Floo.

"There you all are!" Tonks said, rushing over to give her son hug. Helena emerged from the kitchen with a cup of tea and gave the new guests friendly hellos.

"How's school Ted?" she asked as Tonks and Remus took everyone's suitcases upstairs.

"Pretty good. You?" Ted asked with a grin.

"Oh it's not too bad I suppose. Can't help thinking what it'd be like teaching at a magic school though," Helena teased.

"Where's Q?" Vic asked, looking around as if expecting the man to pop up behind him.

"Oh he had work. He'll be here around dinner time," Helena said, waving her hand vaguely, "Now come on, what's first to do on the Christmas holiday list?"

Teddy grinned before leading Helena over to their computer.

In a few hours and after introductions, Tonks and the other teachers had engaged themselves in some conversation in the dining room as Remus attempted to beat Roy in a game of chess on the coffee table.

Teddy, Vic and Helena had crowded around his computer watching some more Bond movies with all three of them now bursting out laughing whenever the movie's Q appeared on screen.

"Oi Remus! The door!" Tonks called as the doorbell rang.

"That must be Sirius."

The boys instantly perked up, Teddy eager to see his uncle while Vic and Roy wanted to meet the infamous Sirius Black.

When Remus opened the door however he found two black haired men glaring daggers at each other on the doorstep.

"Talk about terrible timing," Remus joked as both men turned their glares to him instead.

"Evening Padfoot, Severus," Remus said, backing up and welcoming the other two into his home.

"Thank you for not killing each other on my front door. It would have upset the neighbours."

"Aw stow the crap Moony there's no one out here for miles," Sirius said, eyes still locked in a battle of wills against the Potions master who was also stepping through the entrance.

"It seems the years have been too kind on you Black," Snape said and Remus was pretty sure the man would have continued his tirade had it not been for a small tug on his cloak.

All the men looked down.

A small girl stood behind the Potions master, looking up at her supposed guardian with expectant eyes.

"You must be Celty," Remus said, interrupting the two arch enemies as the girl turned to look at the werewolf.

"Severus has told me lots about you," Remus went on an Celty gave him a bright smile.

"The boys are playing in the living room, Boys come say hello," Remus called out and Celty gave Severus a hesitant look.

"Well go on then," Snape snapped after a few seconds and Celty gave her guardian another grin before running off into the living room.

"Now. Tea guys?" Remus asked as the three men were left alone.

"Aw I wanna see your sprong Moony," Sirius said, "And you never told me _he_ was coming."

"Indeed if I had known I would never have agreed to this Lupin," Snape snapped before disappearing into the kitchen.

"What's Snivellus doing with a kid anyways?" Sirius muttered as Remus gave him a clap on the back as they headed to the living room.

"My name's Teddy. This is Vic and that's Roy," Teddy said happily to his new friend.

Celty gave them shy waves before taking out a Muggle cellphone and typing out, "I'm Celty. Nice to meet you," before showing the trio the screen.

"Cool. Are you a witch?" Vic asked and Celty nodded typing out.

"Severus teaches me magic during the holidays."

"How long have you known Snape?" Teddy said, instantly curious and Celty shrugged before holding up 3 fingers.

"3 years? Wow. Is he always such a creeper at home?" Vic asked and Roy nudged him gently in the ribs but Celty laughed anyways before giving several firm nods.

The boys instantly burst out laughing as Celty typed.

"I ran away from the orphanage 3 yrs ago and ended up meeting Severus. Now I'm officially his assistant," she showed the boys with a slightly prideful smile.

"So you're really good with potions?"

Another nod.

"Cool. You can help us with our homework!" Vic said and the group of kids laughed again.

"I see you four are getting along," Remus said as he entered with Sirius in tow.

"Yeah! Hi Uncle Sirius!" Teddy instantly shouted, giving his uncle a hug.

"Wow Ted you're huge!" Sirius exclaimed much to the boy's amusement, "Still stuck with the blue hair though I see. How're you doing? You dad's not making you live of chocolate is he?"

Teddy laughed, "No but he's tried."

"Come on, these are my friends Vic and Roy and I think you've met Celty," Teddy said, pointing out each of his new friends who waved or nodded shyly.

"Yup. Moony's told me all about you two last year," Sirius said, pointing at the brothers with a grin.

"Sirius Black. Nice to meet ya," he said and Teddy laughed as Vic's eyes bugged.

"Ted your family is so cool," Vic whispered, "Like you know Harry Potter and Sirius Black and EVERYONE."

Teddy laughed, "Well now you know them too."

In the recent years, Sirius' involvement in the war and his innocence had made headlines everywhere. No one could believe that the infamous killer was actually a member of the Order of the Pheonix and had not had any hand in killing the Potters.

Still, not being much for fame and attention, Sirius had left Britain in the middle of the big uproar and disappeared for a few years having found an urge to travel after so long trapped in Azkaban and, to a lesser extent, his own home during the war.

He and Remus owled each other now and then but this was still the first time in years that Teddy had seen the man in person.

"Are you really an Animagus?" Vic asked Sirius excitedly and Sirius laughed, "You betcha kid!"

And with that Sirius turned into a giant black dog.

Teddy was quite certain Vic was going to hyperventilate and pass out.

"THAT'S SOOO COOL!" Vic said, bouncing up and down and shaking his brother.

"Can you teach me how to do that? Please please pleeease?"

Teddy laughed along with everyone else as Sirius turned back into human form.

"Maybe when you're a bit older but I'll see what I can do," Sirius replied with a grin, giving Vic a pat on the head as he jumped up and down in excitement.

Remus laughed along with everyone else as he watched Vic's enthusiasm only to be interrupted by another ringing of the door.

Quickly walking over to answer it he was met with Professor Heartfilia at his door.

"Good evening Remus," she said sweetly and Remus gave her a quick smile.

"Come in come in. We were just about to start dinner," Remus said, inviting the other teacher in.

"What a lovely place you have," Hearfilia said as she entered and Remus gave her another polite smile in thanks before taking her coat.

He made some polite conversation with the teacher before a few minutes later, Tonks' voice was heard calling for dinner and every clamored around the dining room table.

"This is lovely Tonks. Did you make this?"Croswell asked between a mouthful of pasta.

"Oh Merlin no!" Tonks said and Teddy laughed.

"I think Mum once burned water," he said and the children snickered as Tonks shot her son a dirty glare.

"Helena made it," Tonks insisted and the Muggle of the group blushed.

"Well I had Remus' help. That magic if very convenient stuff!" Helena said and all the other teachers nodded in agreement.

Professor Heartfilia on the other hand frowned.

"What ever do you mean by that? We are not all witches here?" she asked in her Italian accent.

Helena smiled politely at her, "No. Sorry. We never got introduced. I'm Helena Rodor. I'm not a witch."

"Oh and how did you meet Remus?" Heatfilia asked but Remus quickly interrupted.

"Helena helped Teddy and I in a time of need over the summer holidays. We're friends," he stressed and Teddy was pleased that the topic was dropped almost instantly.

"Oh that reminds me. We never told you Teddy but is it alright if Celty sleeps with you boys?" Tonks said after a while of polite chatter.

"Sure!" Teddy said.

"Sirius, you're sleeping in our room. Severus I think we agreed you would take the basement. You four can take the guest room. If it's a bit cramped the basement could still use occupants,"

Teddy and his friends snickered as Logan and Bobo shot looks of feigned horror at Tonks before dissolving into laughter.

Are you sure you don't mind sleeping on the couch?" Tonks went asked Helena who shook her head.

"If you can make it bigger like you showed me this morning it should be fine," Helena insisted.

"Cool. Now. Celty was saying something how Professor Snape got her to talk?" Vic pressed, looking at Celty expectantly who blushed before looking over at Snape to explain.

"Not talk exactly," Snape sighed, "I've invented a potion that will allow the user to speak her mind by projecting her thoughts to the people around her. The potion is still in its early stage of development and only lasts for a few hours at best."

"So it's like. Mind-talking," Vic said, and Teddy too seemed to be in awe.

"Telepathy," Roy corrected and Vic corrected himself.

"Yeah. Telepathy. Like Professor X in X-Men," Vic said and Roy rolled his eyes.

"Something like that."

"Can we listen?" Teddy asked Celty who once again looked at Snape who nodded once before resuming his meal.

With a grin she grabbed Ted's hand and lead the boys to their room.

Remus watched the group of kids go before Sirius spoke up from beside him.

"How'd you wind up with a kid like that anyways?" Sirius asked, pointing his finger at Snape. No doubt his curiosity had breached his "No speaking to Snivellus" rule.

Snape shrugged vaguely.

"Her parents were killed by Voldemort's Death Eaters. I've been told the experience was...traumatic..." Snape said before leaving the table and gathering his empty plates.

Sirius spared Remus a glance who shrugged.

"Just leave it at that Padfoot," he said and Sirius shrugged back.

"Meh. More info than I wanted anyways," he grumbled. "So? How're you doing Moony? Haven't seen you in ages!"

As the adults talked downstairs or, in Snape's case, probably not talked downstairs, Teddy and his friends hurried into the bedroom where Celty rummaged through a small backpack of her things.

Taking out a small vial she showed her awed audience before unscrewing the cap and putting a drop of it on her tongue.

_"Can you hear me?"_

The boys jumped again as a voice filtered through their heads; quiet and sweet.

"That's soo coool," Vic said for the enth time that day and even Roy was awed.

"Yeah we can hear you Celty," Teddy said happily, "What do you want to talk about?"

_"I don't know..." _came the hesitant reply.

"Well why not tell us what you do during our school times?" Vic asked and Teddy shrugged, interested to know what she got up to when most other kids were at school.

"Oh and you have to tell us about Snape!" Teddy insisted and Vic nodded his head vigorously.

"Yeah like does he snore? What shampoo does he use? Does he wear jeans?" Vic asked and the rest of the group burst out laughing once more.

Once the potion had wore off in a few hours, Teddy and his friends retreated back downstairs where Croswell was chatting excitedly with Helena in the kitchen.

Tonks, Sirius and Logan were catching up on the times and Remus and Snape were playing another game of wizard's chess in the living room.

Teddy wasn't sure where Professor Heartfilia had disappeared to but didn't dwell on it.

Putting in the next Bond movie the boys quickly outlined the general feel of Bond to Celty before they settled down to watch. Only for the doorbell to ring and some odd thumping was heard outside.

"That must be Q," Remus said, getting up to open the door. When he reached it however he found himself face to face with a rather large box.

"...a TV?" he asked, amazed and Q's fedora poked up from behind the box.

"Christmas," was Q's only word of explanation as he adjusted his hold.

"Do you need a hand?" was Remus' first thought. The large box seemed to look as it might crush the man after all but Q shook his head, stepping into the house without so much a huff of breath.

When Ted saw Q's rather grand entrance into the living room he gave a whoop of delight at the man's present.

"NO WAY A TV?!" he shouted, as all the children shot to their feet to inspect the new piece of technology.

The rest of the adults came running into the living room at the shout before everyone gave their own exclamations.

"You really didn't need to," Remus protested weakly but Q shrugged again as he rather easily settled the large flat screen's box onto the floor.

"Christmas," he insisted.

"Now I see why you live with your dad," Helena spoke up, slipping an arm around Q's waist, "Gives you lots of extra cash not having to pay for food or anything doesn't it?"

"Hmm," was Q's reply as he helped Remus open the box under the watchful eyes of everyone else in the room.

It would take roughly an hour for Q to set the TV and its accompanying stand up. It was also hard to position it in a place where Tonks and Teddy deemed it safe so that they wouldn't trip over it and kill themselves.

In the mean time, the adults went back to their respective talks and chess games before almost silently, Professor Heartfilia sat down on the couch beside Remus with a frown.

"I don't mean to intrude Remus. But that Rodor woman has been talking to Croswell for the past two hours," she said, suspicion evident in her voice.

Ted and his friends helping Q set up the television in front of the couch gave each other looks at the not so subtle accusation.

"I don't really see the problem," Remus admitted with a raised eyebrow as his bishop snatched up Snape's rook.

"Well it's a bit suspicious isn't it? She's awfully friendly and she knows so much about magic for a Muggle."

Ted turned to look at Q who gave no indication that he was listening to Heartfilia at all.

"And in all honesty Remus. She's a bit of a whore."

BANG

Teddy and his friends jumped as if electrocuted as, in a blink of an eye, the TV went from standing on its stand to being raised high above Qs head. Qs face was absolutely livid, eyes narrowed in pure hatred as plugs snapped out of their sockets from the sudden force and Teddy cowered against Vic as it seemed like the man had every intention to throw the TV at Heartfilia with every ounce of strength he had.

"Q BLOODY HELL PUT IT DOWN!" Helan's shriek was heard as footsteps ran into the living room.

In an instant, Q seemed to snap back into reality and his face went completely slack as he took a few stumbling steps from the weight of the television in his hands before it all came crashing to the floor.

Teddy winced as the TV was dropped to the ground and Helena was already there, grabbing Q by the arm and hauling him up.

"Terribly sorry about that Remus. We'll explain later. We'll be in the bedroom," she hastily muttered as she dragged her husband out the room.

Teddy, along with the rest of the house's guests, stared at the place they had been before before slowly turning to each other.

Q's sudden action had surged Snape and Lupin to their feet. Remus couldn't really get the feeling that he was going to soon be crushed by a television out of his head.

"What in Merlin's name was that about?" Heartfilia cried out, breaking the awkwardly tense silence.

As the adrenaline slowly trickled out of him, Remus sat back down with a sigh. Snape having already done so.

"That was her husband," Remus murmured, reaching to rub his eyes with a sigh.

Heartfilia on the other hand wasn't done, "Oh well Remus you should have told me the Muggle was married to a wizard. It make so much more sense now!" she insisted but Remus shook his head.

"Q is also a Muggle," he stated flatly and Heartfilia's eyes widened once more.

"That man is a Muggle?" she said, pointing to the television lying on the floor. "An ordinary Muggle? You expect me to believe that? He just lifted up a 50 pound television and waved it around over his head like it was a child's toy!" she exclaimed and Remus shrugged helplessly.

"Yes well, he may not be an ordinary Muggle but he is very much a Muggle as is his wife and I would appreciate if you didn't go spreading any rumors about them," Remus stressed and Heartfilia, finally in Ted's opinion, shut up.

"Ted will you check on them?" Remus asked, as Tonks mumbled a simple _Reparo_ on the television before the teachers decided it was due time to let things go and leave the room.

Ted took the stairs two at a time as he tried to silently glide up to the master bedroom door.

"Seriously Q you need to sleep," came Helena's voice angrily through the door.

"Or else you're going to be a terrible house guest and I don't want to have send you to the hospital again when you suddenly have the urge to throw the fridge out the window or something."

There was a rustle of fabric that signalled Q had spoken.

"What?" Helena asked.

"She called you a whore," Q stressed a bit louder so that even Teddy could hear.

There was an awkward pause as Helena seemed to think about that fact before more rustling of fabric.

"Yeah well. I can fight my own battles Mr. Secret Agent," Helena started, "And you're not 16 anymore. You don't need to punch everyone through a wall for badmouthing your friends."

"You're more than my friend," Q mumbled and Ted could just picture him awkwardly look away.

Helena laughed, "And I love you too."

Teddy straightened from the door as he took a breath. No doubt Q and Helena had made up so with a tentative fist he gave a knock on the door.

Q? Helena? He asked, slowly opening the door and peering inside, "Are you guys alright?"

"Hey Ted. Yeah we're alright. We're just coming down now," Helena said, getting up from the bed, husband in tow.

"Heartfilia apologized to you guys," Teddy lied and Helena smiled at him.

"Sorry. Temper's not the best at the moment," Q said quietly to Remus as he made his way back to the television sitting on the floor.

"Don't worry about it. It was a bit of a shock that's all," he said, deciding not to press the issue.

"Checkmate," Snape interrupted and Remus stared in dismay at the chess board with a groan.

Q's lips quirked but he said nothing as he turned back to the TV, Teddy and his friends quickly helping him finish the set up.

By the time the television was finally set up it was well past midnight and Celty had already fallen asleep, quite amusingly, in Snape's lap. Vic was also snoring softly, belly down on the sofa next to them with Roy not too far behind.

"I think the grand revealing can wait until tomorrow," Tonks said as Teddy gave a huge yawn.

"Yeah. Come on Ted, you're not too old for piggy back from your uncle are you?" Sirius asked and Teddy gave him a sleepy grin as he was hoisted up.

As the rest of the household got ready for bed, Ted found it quite easy to sleep into an easy slumber before he was suddenly jolted awake as a thought struck him.

_"The necklace! I forgot about the necklace!"_

Suddenly desperate to find the object he'd picked up the night before from the fight, Teddy quickly got up, stepped over his sleeping friends and opened his trunk. After a few seconds of rummaging, Ted was able to find his cloak and within its pockets, finally extracted the tooth necklace from its confines secretly pleased that Pomfrey or the Headmistress hadn't confiscated it during his stay at the Hospital Wing.

He studied the tooth again for a second before getting up and silently slipping out of his room. The rest of the house was asleep by now and he quickly walked downstairs and into the living room only to stop at the sight before him.

Helena must have managed to convince Q to finally sleep for he lay on his back, chest rising and falling rhythmically as his wife curled herself up beside him under the blankets.

The sofa had been magically stretched so it easily fit the peaceful couple and Teddy noticed a bottle of pills sitting next to a glass of water on the coffee table. With a small smile Teddy carefully tiptoed back upstairs. Whatever he needed could wait until tomorrow.

* * *

_It's been a year...more than a year... o.o Am I back? It'll depend but I do really want to get this story finished now. I'll go easy on the cliffhangers though. Sorry to everyone who most likely will have to reread this story again just to remember wtf's going on (I know I had to)._

_To make things a bit simpler:_

_Roy and Vic are sons of Antonin Dolohov  
Q works for the Secret Service. You don't know his real name yet. He'll have a major role later on.  
Lucy Heartfilia is the other DADA professor alongside Remus.  
Clarence Leonelli is...a mystery... but the main antagonist._

_And I have to give credit to SweetDeamon again for helping me find my motivation to write after so long._

_Until next time. Review!_


	19. Information Overload

"So. You said you knew something about this?" Ted asked, having finally managed to corner Q on his own in the living room the next day.

Q looked up from his laptop as he sat crossed legged on the sofa, blinking once at the object Ted held in his hands.

"It's a Leonelli family crest," he said bluntly before turning back to his laptop as Teddy leaned against the couch in awe.

"I think I uh, stole it from a guy named Clarence Leonelli," Ted supplied, "I think he's been parading around my school all semester as an unregistered student," he added although Q failed to respond.

Seating himself on the armrest, Teddy stared at the necklace in his hands once more. It was a simple tooth, sharp and thin, and carved into the side of it was something that did indeed look like a family crest.

After a few minutes of patiently waiting, Q turned his laptop screen to the boy perched by the armrest.

"Lorenzo Leonelli," Teddy read out loud as he took the laptop from the man. "Chairman of the Leonelli crime family. Sex: Male, Age: 55, Race: ..." Ted trailed off as he gave a rather astonished look in Q's direction, _"Vampire?!"_

Q's gaze remained unmoving and Ted hastily skimmed the rest of the stats, skipping through a rather lengthy list of crimes before coming upon a section titled Family.

"Wife passed away 11 years ago. One son. Clarence Leonelli," Ted said aloud, feeling rather proud as Clair's face peered back at him as a picture on the monitor, "That's him alright. Wow you Secret Service guys are good," he said with a grin and Q gave a "hrmm" in response before taking back his laptop.

"Do you guys have a file on Clair too?" Ted asked, looking over the man's arm.

Q gave a nod as his fingers clattered over his keys. Ted spent a short while marvelling at the fact that Q was practically hacking into the Secret Service databases to get information for little, insignificant him.

"Here," Q said, showing Ted the screen fully once more.

"Clarence Leonelli. Son of mafia don Lorenzo Leonelli. Sex: Male, Age: 17, Race: Vampire," Teddy recited before a string of sentences beneath the stats caught his eye.

"Inferiority complex. Deemed mentally unstable and prone to wild, extremely violent actions..." Ted quickly skimmed the rest before looking up at Q in alarm.

"He threw a grenade into a mall when he was 8?!" Teddy said, eyes wide as Q gently took his laptop back.

"I knew he was a psycho!" Teddy cried, reaching to grab a fistful of hair.

"And it says he's 17. He looks like he's 11 for crying out loud," Ted complained.

"Vampires generally look youthful," Q replied, returning to his previous task.

"What else does it say about vampires?" Teddy asked, remembering Mr Jeevas from the Summer Fair only a few months ago. Matt's father hadn't seemed out of the ordinary. A bit pale in the light but there was definitely no sadistic blood streak like he'd seen with Clair."

Teddy shuddered at the thought.

"Leonellis come from a long line of vampires. Unlike those from other countries they isolated themselves, breed within the family to keep traits and traditions alive. Traditions would include a taste for blood and rather harsh and violent upbringings." Q started as he quickly typed up more information regarding the fact, "Vampires usually show immense physical strength, can see in the dark, acute sense of hearing, high immune system."

"Can they turn into bats?" Teddy asked, suddenly excited but Q only gave him a raised eyebrow.

Teddy shrugged, "It'd be kinda cool," he insisted.

"No bats."

Teddy grinned, "What about the taste for blood thing. You said British vampires didn't do that anymore."

Q shrugged.

"Leonellis would have an attachment to it. Not sucking dry its victims of course but bloods of vampires are considered sacred. The sharing of blood can be used for Blood Pacts and family is held in high esteem by its members."

"Blood Pacts?"

"Bonds shared between a vampire and another. Based largely on protection and trust."

"Sounds like marriage."

Q tilted his head slightly as if thinking about that fact.

"Similar but can be in more than one Blood Pact. Vampires can form Blood Pacts with anyone and they do not need the other party's consent."

"And so what happens if you're in a Blood Pact?"

"The human is granted immunity to the vampire. Cannot be killed by them. In return, the vampire will know the human's whereabouts and perhaps other things. Several other factors. Only pureblooded vampires are capable of doing it so very little information available."

Teddy pouted a bit but straightened a bit.

"It sounds a lot like an Unbreakable Vow."

Q raised another eyebrow and Teddy explained.

"It's when two wizards make promises to each other. They're bonded together by an Unbreakable Vow. If you break your promise you die."

Q shrugged, "Suppose so but won't die. Simply can't break the Pact."

"But so that's the big secret? The Italian mafia is actually run by vampires?" Ted asked with a shudder as Q gave a shrug.

"No. Just certain families. Bertinellis. Cassamentos. Leonellis."

Ted suddenly sat bolt upright, "You told me that at the fair this summer!" he said, jabbing his finger at Q so that the man almost lost an eye.

"Arg I totally forgot. I should have remembered and then I would have kept better track of him! And now he's got the Cloak and the Wand!"

"Not your fault," Q supplied before pausing, "...the Cloak and what?" he asked hesitantly and Teddy hastily launched into an explanation of how he'd come about meeting Clarence Leonelli and the aftermath that followed.

"So yeah, we think he's trying to become the Master of Death by collecting all the Deathly Hallows!" Ted insisted before looking back down at the computer, "You guys know about all that stuff right? Cuz it's pretty important with the Second War and everything and I know Kingsley told your Minister about the War."

"We know," Q insisted as his fingers flew over the keys.

"Clarence Leonelli flew from Sicily to London six months ago," Q read off the screen as Teddy turned to peer at the laptop once more.

"Was he with anyone?" Teddy asked, frowning at the mess of displays, information and computer code that now splattered the screen.

"Will look into it," Q said and Ted gave him a smile.

"You don't really have to," he insisted, "all we really need to do is find the Resurrection Stone before Clair does. I know Harry said he dropped it in the Forbidden Forest, that's some forest near my school. My friends and I can probably find it after the break. It's our problem really. I think you've got enough on your plate right now don't you?" Ted asked, not wanting to seem like a bother.

"Leonelli crime family is in London. Year before boy becomes legal adult at 18," Q started.

"What happens when Clair turns 18?" Ted interrupted and Q waved a hasty hand in the air.

"Can become chair of family business should father permit," Q answered and Ted gave a shudder. Someone like Clair becoming the leader of a mafia family?

"Makes it my problem," Q finished as he went back to work.

"Yeah but it doesn't make it your problem _now_," Ted insisted, getting off the couch and grabbing the man's arm, "It's Christmas Eve and I wanna show you my broomstick," Ted said, grinning when Q simply gave him a blank look.

"Come on, you can look into Clair and all that Italian vampire stuff some other time," he continued as he dragged Q off the couch.

Only to run out the living room and promptly crash into one Lucy Heartfilia.

Ted's mouth went dry as he looked up into the impressively innocent eyes of the teacher.

"Are you alright?" Professor Heartfilia asked, helping Teddy to his feet and Ted was quick to give a false smile as Q calmly walked over to him. There was a rather awkward silence between the trio as Teddy's suspicions roared in his head.

_"How much did she hear? Was she just walking in or was she standing there the whole time?"_

"MOONY!"

Ted and the rest of the trio jumped as Sirius Black's voice echoed throughout the house.

"MOONY! COME UPSTAIRS! I NEED YOU!" Sirius shouted and Ted spared a glance at Q behind him before he rushed upstairs to follow the noise.

"What in Merlin's name did you do Sirius?!" Ted heard his father shout.

"He was asking and I thought it wouldn't hurt to give him some pointers!" Sirius explained as Ted burst through the door.

The first thing he noticed was Vic on the bed having sprouted a rather impressive set of rear paws and a tail. Teddy turned to Celty and Roy perched by the windowsill, both looking as if they were struggling to determine whether to laugh or stare fixated in horror at the half human half dog...thing.. on the bed.

"He's only 12 Padfoot!"

"So! We started when we were 12!" Sirius insisted on the other side of the bed.

"Hi Ted!" Vic said as Teddy stared while Vic scratched his head with a hind leg. "Look I have a tail now," he said, wagging the limb in his friend's still stunned face.

"Vic are you alright?" Remus asked hurriedly before he felt any further need to strangle his friend in front of the children.

"I'm fine Professor. Just kinda...stuck...that's all," Vic insisted as Remus took out his wand and began muttering a series of spells Teddy couldn't quite hear. After a few moments, Vic's tail slowly shrank back towards his body and after a few more, Vic was certified human once more.

"Right. No more of that. I don't want another unregistered Animagus running around the house," Remus announced as he put his wand back into his pocket.

"Aww," Vic said.

"None of that," Remus warned, "You could go to Azkaban for being an unregistered Animagus."

"I could register myself," Vic insisted but after receiving a glare from everyone else in the room minus Sirius, he sighed and promised not to make anymore attempts.

"Mr. Sirius got to do it," Vic said with a pout as Ted and his friends made to sit on the bed with him as well.

"Well Mr. Sirius is an exception," Remus mimicked before shooting his friend a look, "And he's also a terrible influence," he finished.

"Aw come on Moony," Sirius said, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

"Living room Padfoot," Remus instructed and the kids held back a snigger as Sirius was marched out of the room as if he were an irate school boy.

"What were you doing?" Teddy asked once the adults had left the room.

"I want to be an Animagus Ted!" Vic complained and everyone rolled their eyes.

The sound of quick tapping filled the air.

"No one's saying you can't," Celty said as the boys crowded around her Muggle cellphone screen.

"But wouldn't it be safer if you did it at Hogwarts?" she continued and both Roy and Ted shook their heads in agreement.

"Yeah. Doing it in my dad's bedroom isn't the greatest idea Vic," Ted pointed out and Vic gave him another pout.

"Anyways," Ted said before Vic could go further into his sulk, "I've been talking to Q. Get this guys," he said as he began to track down the recent developments of the Clair case. Celty, puzzled at first, had to be clued in on the basics but it wasn't long before Ted outlined everything that happened to his friends from the incident at the tomb to his talk with Q from earlier.

"You think Hearfila's in on this?" Vic whispered and Ted shrugged.

"I couldn't tell if she was just entering of if she was just standing there," he admitted.

"She hasn't done much to ward suspicion...which is suspicious in itself," Vic said only for the conversation to be immediately cut off when they heard a squeak upon the landing outside the room.

All attention was then quickly drawn back to the door as Snape emerged, holding a vial of potion that Teddy recognized as the potion Celty used to make her thoughts heard.

"You left this on the coffee table," Snape said harshly and Ted and the boys shrank back a bit in fear of the Potion master's wrath.

Celty on the other hand gave the vial a puzzled glance before tapping out another message.

"I haven't taken it out at all today," the girl insisted and Vic was quick to back her up.

"Yeah. Celty's been with me and Roy all today," he insisted and Roy shook his head in agreement as well.

Snape narrowed his eyes at the foursome before opening his mouth to speak.

"Shh!" Ted suddenly interrupted, eyes darting to the door.

Everyone else gave him startled looks.

"Did you just tell Snape to shh?" Vic whispered but Ted shook his head.

"Shh!" he insisted.

The rest of the group glanced quickly to each other but thankfully kept their mouths shut.

That's when Teddy started to hear it. Like a beating drum that was making its way closer and closer.

_"Cosa Nostra. Criminal syndicate. 19th century. Don't touch. Don't steal. Don't kill. Don't cross. Be silent. Omerta. Italy. Siciliy. Clarence. Lorenzo. Protection. Racketeering. Murder. Vampires. Immense physical strength. Pale. Aversion to bright light. Crave blood they've tasted. Crave. Craving. Smoke. Need a cigarette..."_

Ted's head was starting to throb as he hastily got off the bed, eyes meeting Snape's in a moment of alarm before throwing open the door of the room and running downstairs.

"Q!" he shouted, bursting into the living room with more than half the house following.

"Q what's going on?" Helena said as the living room quickly filled with adults.

"Whatever it is turn it off. I'm getting a headache," Tonks insisted and the other teachers hastily agreed as Ted and his friends reached to clamp a hand over their ears. It didn't do anything. Random strings of information were still being shot through their heads at alarming speeds.

Q, still sitting on the living room couch with his laptop ignored most of the people in the room as Helena rounded on him.

_"Helena. Bertnelli. Angry. What did I do? Smoke? No. She's beautiful when she's angry. Leonelli. Vampires..."_

"Q we can hear you think!" Teddy shouted as he tried to hear himself over the buzz in his head.

Q cast an alarmed look in Ted's direction before he went back to looking at his wife towering over him.

"It's a potion that Snape brewed for Celty. It must have gotten into your tea or something," Ted shouted as all the adults turned to look at him, "It lets the people around you hear your thoughts!"

"What's the radius?" Croswell asked, turning to Snape who frowned.

"A few feet at best."

"Right! We'll be in the yard then," Logan said as the other teachers plus Tonks hastily fled the house.

_"Yard. Enclosed area. Attached to a building. Yard. Unit of length. 3 feet. 36 inches. Scotland Yard. Headquarters of-"_

"Q!" Helena cried as her husband went off on yet another tangent.

"Can't just stop thinking Helena," Q interrupted, looking increasingly agitated and Helena bent down to kiss him.

The thoughts in Ted's head went silent for the briefest of seconds but before Ted even had the chance to cheer they were back again with renewed rigor.

_"Beautiful. Things could do with her. Wish I could- No. Cigarette. Need a cigarette."_

"Helena. Not helping," Q muttered, face turning alarmingly red as he struggled to firmly _not _think about his wife in any context.

Teddy and his friends took the time to awkwardly look at everyone but the couple in front of them.

"Lupin. Knock me out," Q said hastily, looking a bit desperately at Remus on the other side of the room as his brain restarted his seemingly random sprouting of information.

"Celty, how do you control your thoughts?" Remus asked instead and everyone turned to Celty who had instantly leapt into action, typing out a message.

"I just push out which ones I want to be echoed," Teddy recited from the mobile and everyone gave Snape a curious glance instead.

"It's not meant for someone with such complex thoughts," Snape said, trying to refrain from shouting with what felt like drums echoing in his head. "Most people's thoughts are relatively linear, especially when they're speaking, so it's easier to control than this."

Everyone turned their attention back to Q who didn't seem to be listening to them. Instead he seemed to be staring intently at a corner of the room while firmly trying to _not_ think about anything as a mantra began to play almost obsessively through everyone's heads.

_"Cigarette. Cigarette. Need a cigarette. Helena. No. Cigarette. Cigarette..."_

"What in Merlin's name is going on?"

Everyone jumped as Professor Heartfilia made her way past the door and Q had a momentary lapse of concentration.

_"Heartfilia, Lucy. Put this stuff in my tea. Loyalty to Leonellis. Vamp-"_

BANG

Everyone jumped as Q suddenly went shock still before slumping forwards into Helena's waiting arms, out cold.

"Thank you Remus," Helena said with a sigh of relief as the voices in their heads instantly cut off. After a beat though he children turned to look almost accusingly at Heartfilia.

There was an increasingly long silence as Heartfilia struggled not to wilt under everyone's stares.

"Well. I can see when I'm not welcome anymore," the professor said.

"What do you know about Clair Leonelli?" Teddy interupted, trying to pass it off as an innocent question from a typical curious 12 year old and succeeding slightly.

"I've never heard of that name in my life," Heartfilia insisted.

"I could ask Q," Teddy said, nodding to the man passed out on the couch.

There was another long pause before Heartfilia gave a huff.

"You can ask him all you want dear boy," she replied with a nod, "Thank you for having me Remus but I really must be going."

Lupin mumbled a polite apology but otherwise didn't stop her from leaving.

Ted was half tempted to run after her and demand answers but a look from his father quickly halted that train of thought.

"Look I know it looks bad but let me explain," Ted said hurriedly.

"Yes. I believe an explanation is much needed," Remus agreed. "Call your mother and the others back in. We'll be in the dining room. Helena I'm dreadfully sorry for all this."

"No it's alright," Helena insisted, "Actually it's quite good really. Even I can't convince him to sleep two days in a row," she joked and Remus gave her a smile back.

When Teddy returned to the dining room with his mother and the other teacher's in tow he found the rest of the household minus Helena and Q in their respective seats.

"Now. What exactly is going on Teddy?" Remus said as everyone turned their attentions to him.

Teddy took a deep breath as he began recounting everything from the beginning once again. He was getting rather tired of repeating himself truth be told but the less secrets he kept, the better for his sake.

"So yeah. I think Clair and Professor Heartfilia are behind it all. Clair's actually part of a vampire, mafia family and Q says it would make sense that he'd want to become the Master of Death so he can become head of the family."

"This is ridiculous," Tonks mumbled, putting her head in her hands as several other adults shook their heads in agreement. Ted however was quick to respond.

"Well it doesn't really matter why he's doing it right? Just that he is and we know he already has the Cloak and the Wand so he'd be looking for the Stone next which Harry said is somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. We should have people go look for it," he argued.

"And you thought it'd be a good idea to drag some clueless Muggles into this?" Tonks asked, eyes wide. "Merlin Teddy, just because Q knows about magic doesn't mean you can just throw the Wizarding World's problems onto them."

"Q's not as clueless as you think," Ted muttered, remembering that none of the adults knew that Q worked for the Secret Service.

"Your mother's right Teddy," Remus said from the other side of the table, "This is dangerous enough as it is and I think Q and Helena have enough on their plate to deal with. Never mind solving the Wizarding World's problems on top of them."

"I wasn't trying to give them any trouble," Ted said guiltily and Remus sighed.

"No. I don't think you were but just let us handle this alright Ted?"

Teddy nodded.

"We don't even know who this Clair person is," Bobo said with a huff.

"But it's the best lead we've got," Teddy argued and the other boys nodded. "And again, it doesn't matter who he is. It's just that we know someone's out looking for the Resurrection Stone. We have to find it and put a stop to it."

"_We _aren't doing anything Ted," Remus said and Teddy spun his head around to look at his father.

"Don't say the grownups will handle this Dad. You don't know what he even looks like!" Teddy argued, "Only Snape knows and he only remembers the little things. I've met Clair. We all have," Teddy continued, gesturing to Vic and Roy.

"Nevertheless we can handle looking for the Stone. You boys just need to lie low and stay out of trouble until we do."

"And for Merlin's sake Teddy don't go involving anyone else," Tonks insisted.

Ted sighed in frustration.

"Fine," he grumbled weakly.

Little did he know that he'd be having to break that promise very soon.

* * *

"Young Master, the Lupin boy knows."

"Of course he does! That smart, amazing, no good brat. I tried to set him up at the tomb and it just completely backfired. But I've changed my mind. It's been so long since I've had anyone to play with. The last two you gave me were such a bore. Perhaps Lupin will prove to be quite entertaining after all."

"There is something else... He has a friend. A Muggle to be certain. And this man has far too much knowledge about our movements. He might pose to be an even bigger threat to your goal than the boy."

"Does this man have a name?"

"No Young Master. However, he has a wife. I believe she introduced herself as Helena Rodor."

"How very interesting...Use her as a lead then. I want to know everything about this man. Maybe he'll be fun to play with too."

"And Lupin? Should he be taken care of as well?"

"Don't be ridiculous. He may be a child but his connections run wild. They go from as low as street orphans to as high as Britain's Minister of Magic himself. But as long as I stay off Hogwarts there'll be nothing he can do. I trust you can find me the Stone on your own?"

"Of course Young Master."

"Excellent. Oh what a birthday this shall be. Be sure to invite the Lupin boy along. I can't wait to see him again."


	20. The Room of Hidden Things

Christmas Day came with the visits of Harry Potter, Andromeda Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, all held hostage by the children as they insisted on showing off Teddy's new television before leaving.

Still, it wasn't like Teddy could just forget everything that was happening around him.

"I don't know who the owner of the Wand is Ted," Harry said in front of the TV that day, "It's been 12 years. Lots of people have managed to outduel me since that day. Ron, Hermione, even Ginny lets me have it some days," Harry said with a laugh, "And then at work there's a whole handful of other wizards. Even your father and Sirius have defeated me a few times."

Teddy perked up.

"You fought with Dad?"

Harry nodded.

"Yeah. It was right after I'd said I was joining the Auror program. I wanted your dad's help in training me to pass the exams. Didn't feel right asking your mother. She's the examiner after all."

Teddy laughed.

"But either way, the Elder Wand's owner could be anyone by now. It could be a pigeon for all I know."

"A pigeon?"

"Long story. Had a run in with a dark wizard in an owlery," Harry said, waving his hand in a mock form of protest but Teddy grinned just the same.

"The point is Ted, just relax. I doubt anyone will be able to track where I dropped the Stone and even if your suspect does, just because he has physical possession of the Wand doesn't mean he actually owns it."

"But what if he does?" Teddy protested, "You said yourself that you don't know who owns the Wand anymore. It could be anyone. Even Clair."

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get there," his godfather told him firmly.

"Now that's enough talk. It's Christmas Ted and you're only 12! Let the adults handle this one and get back to playing."

Ted gave a frustrated huff but he waved his godfather off with a smile anyways.

* * *

The rest of the week passed without further incident thankfully. The other grownups often split into their own respective groups and Teddy entertained himself with his friends. Incidents and Masters of Death shifting to rest in the back of his mind although they never quite disappearing.

Vic had taken a firm attachment to Sirius, insisting that he teach him all his Marauder tricks and Sirius had happily obliged with the other children warily tagging along.

"Padfoot, you're being a terrible influence," Remus shouted after had sat upon the couch only to have red and gold sparks fly out from underneath him in a dizzying display.

Q, having made himself comfortable in the corner desk with his own laptop, was staring slightly wide eyed while Vic and Sirius' laughter could be heard in the other room.

"Why don't you three teach Celty how to fly?" Remus suggested as the children made their way into the living room followed by a still sniggering Sirius.

"Yeah! We could do that!" Vic said enthusiastically, "And Sirius can teach us how to surf standing up!"

Remus winced and gave his friend a look.

"Relax Moony, no one's going to break any necks around me," Sirius said, feigning hurt at his friend's lack of trust and Remus rolled his eyes as he sat back down on the couch.

"You better not or you're not coming within a mile of this house," he muttered as he watched his son lead a slightly frightened Celty out the door.

Remus tried to smile reassuringly to the girl but he think it turned out to be more of a wince.

"Q, give me the beer."

"It's good beer."

"I'm sure it is but you've already drank half the case and it's not even noon."

Remus fought back a grin as he turned to look at the couple in the corner of his living room. He hadn't even heard Helena come in.

"That'd be Sirius' fault," he spoke up instead, "Butterbeer can be a bit addicting at first I'm afraid."

"It's good," Q said bluntly, taking a swig from the bottle before it was snatched up by his wife.

"There's not much alcohol content," Q insisted but Helena ignored him as she walked out of the room.

"Ted! Look out you're going to-!"

CRACK

Remus winced and he spared a look out the window.

"I'm OK!"

Remus sighed. This was going to be a long week indeed.

* * *

Overall, it was a relatively relaxing break but by the time school started, all the tension building up in Teddy made him feel like he was ready to burst. The second he went back to the castle, Teddy couldn't help but feel that he should be doing something, anything, to help search for the Stone. It didn't even feel like the teachers were giving the impending crisis much thought at all.

His father had insisted they were thinking of a solution but a month slowly dragged by, January turning to February, and Teddy hadn't seen anyone even start up a search party.

"They're not doing anything to find the Stone," Teddy muttered angrily one day in the library. The boys had begun meeting there every day after class, drowning themselves in books that could help them know anything about the Hollows. So far, they'd turned up with nothing.

"Yeah. I'm with Ted on this one," Vic said, "It's like the adults think if they don't find it, Clair won't and this whole thing will blow over."

"But he will find it," Teddy insisted. He didn't know why but some part of him was certain that Clair would find a way to get the Stone. Wherever it was in the Forbidden Forest.

"Hi Teddy!"

The boys instantly snapped stopped talking when a voice behind Ted spoke up.

"Hey TK!" Vic said, pleased that it was only their first year friends, "We haven't seen you since Christmas. What's up?"

The blond boy grinned, "Nothing much."

"Where're your friends?" Teddy asked and TK pointed behind him.

"Kari's in the magical creatures section."

"And Clair?" Teddy prodded, slightly hesitant.

"Who's Clair?"

The three boys gave each other a startled glance. They should have known Clair would cover his tracks.

"Nevermind," Roy interrupted hastily, shooting Teddy and Vic quick glares.

"You know McGonagall asked me about a Clair too," TK said with a frown, "I told her I didn't know anyone named Clair."

"You must have-"

"Don't Ted," Roy hissed, "Don't get more people involved."

Teddy let out a frustrated sigh before switching back to his false cheerful self.

"Well, I'm sure McGonagall just wanted to ask some first year students. I think the rumor is that whoever this Clair is he's the one who broke into old man Dumbledore's tomb," Teddy lied.

TK looked aghast, "That's awful," the younger boy said and the other three nodded meaningfully.

"Just don't tell anyone. It's just a rumor," Teddy hastily corrected.

"Sure Ted. The secret's safe with me."

And with a final wave to his friends, the boy headed back to the stacks of books in the library.

"What do you think? Obliviated?" Teddy muttered and his friends shrugged.

"It's for the best really. That's two less people involved in this mess. Assuming Kari got the same treatment."

"And we can't really expect Clair to show up again here after all," Vic pointed out.

"It's for the best Ted."

"I don't even get why they became friends in the first place," Teddy complained, mostly to himself.

"Clair needed someone on the inside to keep him in the loop. TK and Kari probably seemed like a good start, they're first years and innocent enough," Roy explained with a shrug.

A gave his friend a glare at the nonchalance in Roy's voice but small part of Ted's mind agreed so he kept quiet. Still, it didn't mean he had to like it.

"I want to talk to Kari," Teddy said determinedly, pushing himself out of his chair and heading to the magical creatures section. He caught up with the younger girl relatively quickly as she was the only one in the section.

"He Kari!", Teddy said, his heavy footsteps signaling his arrival well in advance. Kari smiled at him and offered a polite hello as she tried to replace a book on one of the shelves.

"Hey Ted. Hope you had a nice Christmas. Mind giving me a hand?"

"Sure thing," Ted said beaming, taking half of Kari's book piles and went to work replacing them in the proper order on the shelves. "How was your break by the way?" Ted asked as he worked, keeping a sharp eye on any changes to Kari's expression as she spoke.

"It was alright. Matt and Travis had to study for their OWLs so TK and I got to explore the castle a lot on our own. Not many people stay over the break," Kari said.

"Cool. Did you see anything? You didn't find a three headed dog did you?" Teddy joked as Kari looked over at him with surprise.

"No...no three headed dog," Kari said with a laugh, "It was just some pixies, empty corridors, hidden entranceways, secret rooms. That kind of thing. It was fun," Kari added. "There's this really gross place that's full of slugs and slime. And there's another that's covered in mirrors like some crazy maze. Oh and there's this one that's full to the brim with cool artifacts and stuff."

Ted's ears perked, "That sounds cool. Where'd you find it?"

Kari shrugged, "On the seventh floor across from Barnabas the Barmy's tapestry. It seemed kind of dangerous though. I don't think a lot of the stuff in there is safe but TK snuck out at night to visit it a lot. It had this mirror in the corner that lets you see whatever you desire. He said he always saw his family in it. I think his parents are divorced..." Kari trailed off into a whisper but Teddy nodded at her in confirmation.

Kari gave a shrug. "I only went in once. Couldn't seem to find it again after that. I guess it only shows up for certain people."

She looked kind of dejected so Ted offered her a comforting smile as he put the last book in his pile onto the shelf.

"Did you see anything in the mirror?" Teddy asked, hoping to keep the conversation going but Kari turned such an alarming shade of red that Teddy just laughed, "It's alright. You don't have to tell me," he said with a grin as he waved goodbye to her. Kari continued to blush but she gave him a farewell wave in reply.

"Guys," Teddy said, breathless as he raced back to the table with his other friends.

They gave him equally questioning looks as Ted took his time to catch his breath before announcing in a low tone:

"I know where Clair hid the Elder Wand."

* * *

"This is so so so not a good idea," Vic muttered as he glanced nervously behind him to see nothing but pitch black.

Roy led the way holding a small ball of fire in his hand but otherwise the hallways of the 7th floor were rather eerie at night.

"Since when were you one to quit on an adventure?" Teddy whispered.

"When it's in a part of Hogwarts crawling with teachers that we've never even met before," Vic whispered back. It was largely true. Teddy and the boys had no reason to come to the 7th floor when all it had was the staircase that led to Divination. More unnerving to Vic though was that it also held a lot of teacher's offices that taught the third year and higher electives. If they were caught out after curfew, Teddy seriously doubted any of these teachers would let them off easy like Professors Bobo and Logan might.

"Just focus on getting into the room," Teddy said. "I don't know exactly but Harry said the Room of Requirement only shows up when we really, really need it so focus."

"It's like the 5th time we've walked up and down the same corridor Ted!" Vic argued.

Ted ignored him and continued to walk behind Roy as they followed the length of the corridor. Whenever they reached the opposite wall of The Barmy's tapestry though they would sigh in defeat as no door appeared before them.

"Maybe we should come back tomorrow," Vic said again after a few minutes of silence.

Ted growled in frustration.

_"Come on!" _he thought to himself as if the Room would be able to hear his thoughts, "_We really do need to get back the Elder Wand. Who knows what Clair could do with it. Even though he's a vampire he's still a Muggle. He can't use magic! He doesn't know what he's getting himself into with this and we need to stop him before he does something irreversible. This is for the sake of the Wizarding World here!"_

"There," Roy whispered, speaking up for the first time in ages and Teddy gave a sigh in relief when Roy's flames lit up the door that they'd been seeking for.

Vic gave a quiet whoop and ran over to the door, grasping the handle firmly before opening it to Ted's nod.

Ted stared open eyed at the huge room staked to the brim with objects of various shapes and sizes. Piles of furniture, statues and objects of various shapes and sizes filled the room from floor to ceiling.

"This isn't the Room of Requirement," Roy said, looking around and Ted gave him a puzzled look, "It's the Room of Hidden Things. Same... but different... We're going to have a hell of a time looking through all this," he added with a frown.

"Whatever, come in before we're caught!" Vic hissed as he pushed the other two into the room and closing the door behind him.

Roy took out his wand and tried a Summoning charm but nothing seemed to happen much to everyone's dismay.

"Well we better get started," Ted said looking around with a sigh, "We do technically have all night."

Vic flew up to the top of the largest pile and did a quick sweep of the whole area.

"It can't be too high up. Clair probably wouldn't have been able to reach," Roy said as he prodded a chair experimentally with his foot. The chair rattled a bit before going still and Roy quickly backed up.

"How do we even know what's safe to touch?" Teddy asked, frustration pilling up as he sat down on the floor in thought.

Kari hadn't mentioned seeing any sort of wand in this room although Ted had to admit the possibility that she or TK had seen it was slim given the volume of stuff packed into here.

"Oh Vic," Ted hollowed to his friend who was still flying circles around the piles, "Do you see a mirror anywhere? Kari said it was in a corner."

"Oh yeah. A big ass one is over there," Vic said pointing to the right corner. Ted and Roy gave each other a look before deciding it couldn't hurt to try it out.

"What do you see Vic?" Ted asked as they approached the enormous mirror in the corner of the room. It was rather hard to miss it. "MIRROR OF ERISED" was etched into the top and Ted noticed a phrase was carved underneath it but he couldn't read it. Vic grinned at him. "I'm Head of the Aurors and there's this awesomely huge mansion behind me with a _car!_ I bet you that's mine. You and Roy are there too. And the three of us are playing soccer."

Ted laughed at this. He turned to Roy wondering if he wanted a look but the Slytherin boy seemed to have already had his fill and had turned away. Ted decided not to pester him about him and shoved Vic out of the way instead so he could take a look.

"What do you see?" Vic asked, curious.

"It's just me. And dad and mom and you two." Ted said, curiously as he stared at his own reflection. It wasn't off from the mark really now that he'd thought about it. He supposed he was pretty happy with what he had and he didn't really know what more he'd want.

"Wait," he said suddenly as his reflection winked at him. A pile came into view. Teddy recognized it as one of the piles near the entrance to the Room. He watched as his reflection dug through it a bit before finding a box. It didn't look like much, a wood box with some silver and purple gem garlands. Yet the box was emblazoned with the Leonelli family crest; the same crest that was on the necklace Teddy had gotten from his attacker at the cemetery. It was good enough proof for him and the reflection faded away as Teddy broke his gaze with it.

"The pile at the entrance. On the right. There should be a purple and silver box about eye level," Teddy said, Roy was already halfway there and Vic and Teddy took off after him.

From there only a few more minutes of searching yielded results.

"Found it," Roy said triumphantly holding up the box as the other two boys ran up to him. Wordlessly he passed the box to Ted who opened it.

And inside was the a wand, roughly 15 inches in length with patterns of elderberries running down its smooth wood.

"That's it Ted," Vic said in a low whisper, "That's the Elder Wand."

Ted carefully picked it up expecting a burst of magic but the wand remained still and imposing in his grip.

"Looks like you're not the true holder of the Wand, Ted," Vic said a bit disappointedly and Ted shrugged with a grin.

"That's alright. Wasn't really hoping to be anyways."

"Leave the box and let's go. I want to catch a few hours before the sun's up," Roy said with a nod and the other boys agreed as they left the room.

Before they could go their separate ways back to their respective dormitories though Ted grabbed Roy's wrist.

"Did you see her?" Ted asked quietly, conscious of Vic walking triumphantly a few steps in front of them. "Did you see that person you want to remember in the Mirror? The one that took care of you two when you guys were little?"

Ted knew Roy's memories had been erased when Death Eaters killed the closest thing to a mother the brothers had ever had. Vic was too young to remember and Roy tried hard to make sure his brother stayed innocent and carefree for it. But Roy remembered. Roy remembered everything. He remembered the presence of a another; the feeling to be accepted and cared for unconditionally. The love from a woman with no name or face. Because magic had taken it from him.

Vic rounded a corner and for a brief second Roy stopped to turn to Ted with a shake of his head.

"I saw her yeah," Roy said in a monotone voice, "I saw her taking care of me and Vic in this nice little house that seemed all quiet and happy. And you and your family were coming over so we could play," Roy continued as he removed himself from Ted's grip and turned around.

"But I didn't see her face," he whispered as he left.

And while Roy was a friend of few emotions, Ted could feel his disappointment through his words.

Sadly, he rounded the corner to go after Vic.

"Ted," Roy called back and Ted turned, "Don't worry yourself over it. We got the Elder Wand back today. Consider it a victory," Roy said.

Teddy patted the pocket where the Wand lay hidden underneath his cloak.

"Yeah alright," he said with another smile, "Night Roy!"

Roy raised an arm in farewell before he disappeared down the stairs leading to the Slytherin dungeons.

Ted grinned and walked away more determination in his step. They had the Elder Wand now. And if Clair wanted it back he'd better bloody well come and get it.

* * *

_AN: I know. I know. Another long ass wait. I had hopes to finish this all up in the summer but then we went on a huge mother of a trip to Europe and I didn't get any time on a computer for almost 4 months. Anyways, still aiming for story completion by the end of the year though. If I don't make it feel free to come after me with pitchforks._

_Regarding a review about Celty and her not going to Hogwarts. Honestly I had no intention of letting people think she couldn't go to Hogwarts because she was mute. That thought like didn't even cross my mind _ but I see where some people can make the connection. I actually had a whole back story planned for Celty like I did for TK and Matt but the story was getting too long so I omitted it because it wasn't necessarily important/relevant. TK and Kari were also supposed to get a larger role in finding the Elder Wand but meh, no time for that either._

_Anyways, in this back story (that I may or may not add now), Celty is basically traumatized from events in her childhood rendering her mute and unwilling to go to Hogwarts because so and so...something happened there relating to the war...It was supposed to also talk about how Snape met her and kinda sorta in his Snape-y ways took her in. When I omitted her back story I now realize I should have also made her a Squib or something /poor story planning me. In a nut shell, Celty initially didn't go to Hogwarts because she just didn't want to. And since she has no parents to make her, she got her say._

_Now the reason I didn't want her going to Hogwarts was because I wanted an "outsider" in the story. Someone who could run around and do things or gather intel while the other kids are stuck at Hogwarts. In a way, she's a reserve character, as is her thought potion, being readily available in case the story progresses in a way that we may need them._

_With that said, as I do intend to wrap up this story faster than originally planned, Celty might not even get much page time anymore. It's just that I'd already conceived the idea of her years ago and I mentioned her back in chapter 15 (last chapter before I took a year hiatus). I'm sure you guys are more interested in Teddy and his family anyways since they're the only cannon characters._


	21. The Stone

If Teddy had thought progression would speed up with their finding of the Elder Wand he was sorely mistaken.

Agonizingly slowly, the weeks dragged by, February dissolved with the coming of spring showers and the return of birds . Teddy and his friends found that it was harder to lose themselves in the usual school buzz as time wore on. There had been no word from the teachers in ages and Teddy didn't feel like asking his father again and risk more scolding for not letting matters drop.

Teddy had taken up checking the Map frequently between classes, looking for any sign of Clair within the building which there were none.

Professor Heartfilia was never seen outside her office and classroom anymore, not even for meal times and Roy had taken to snooping around the Slytherin common room, asking people what she was up to and pretending to take an interest in her classes. The general populace was under the impression Heartfilia was simply getting tired of Hogwarts and spending most of her time at home. Only Teddy and his friends seemed to have any suspicion as to why.

Even the ever optimistic Victor Sage had also felt the pressure and instead of star watching with his omnioculars like he often did, he now found himself staring at the Forest most nights, trying to see anything that was out of place.

And all three boys waited for a signal. Any little thing that told them to be ready. Because they knew something was coming. They just knew.

And then, finally, on a cold March day, Remus Lupin told his son that Harry Potter was in Mungos having been ambushed by some wizards on patrol.

"He just got a hit by a few jinxes before they apparated him away. He'll stay overnight and be released by tomorrow," Remus insisted but Teddy and his friends had glanced knowingly to each other before they went back to their respective dorms.

They knew the wait was over.

The game was on.

* * *

It was Vic who saw them first, having been staring once again at the Forbidden Forest with his omnioculars that night.

"Ted. Take out the Map," Vic said, quickly shaking his friend awake who had dozed off during their makeshift guard.

"There's something in the Forest."

Ted awoke with a start and rubbed his eyes only to freeze at the names pouring off the map.

Hundreds of names were swarming their way onto the parchment, the letters long and mangled, curling in on themselves and on top of others as they tried to find space away from the others. Names crossed paths with each other, their letters getting jumbled and confused until they all just merged together. It was the plague had spread into Hogwarts.

Ted shut the Map in horror and dashed to the window where Vic had pressed his face against the glass.

The trees near the edge of the Forest were shifting, expanding out as a hoard of ominous moans and scream were heard.

With batted breath, the boys waited first of the creatures to wander into the moonlight grounds and when they did it was surely not pretty sight to see.

"What did you say the Resurrection Stone did again Ted?" Vic said, trying and failing to sound lighthearted.

"Just like its name. It can bring back the dead," Ted said a bit weakly as he watched more and more of the undead coming towards Gryffindor Tower. Only this wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He had thought they'd be spirits or ghosts, similar to the ghosts in the castle who could be seen and heard but couldn't physically harm you.

These spirits were different, they actually took physical shapes and had an influence on the things around them. Tree branches were pushed aside, some tripped over themselves in their new yet decaying bodies. Some were missing limbs and others just look ghastly.

The boys had already planned for that and had plethora of books with them that should be able to contain and even banish those types of spirits. Right now however, Teddy didn't think they'd do much good. They weren't just spirits.

"It's like. They're still trapped in the bodies they died in," Teddy said in breathless horror.

Vic gave a low whistle.

"Think whatever you want Ted. But in my eyes we have a whole zombie apocalypse on our hands."

Ted's attempt at a laugh was more of a twitch.

"We need to let everyone in the castle know," he said instead with determination, taking out his wand.

"So Plan B?" Vic asked, taking a step back out from the window as the spirits got closer and closer to Gryffindor Tower.

Ted nodded and was fully prepared to turn and run through Hogwarts shouting that the top of his lungs before a voice floated in from somewhere above them.

"Teddddyy Luupiinn," it hissed and both boys jumped a mile at the venom dripping from those words. "Youu have something the Maassteerr wanntts."

"Plan C!" Teddy shouted as he blasted a spell towards the ghost trying to come through their ceiling.

Already, Vic had shattered the window with his own spell and in one fluid motion, grabbed Teddy and propelled himself through it.

The boys gagged at the stench of death that was coming from the spirits below them.

"If they look like zombies and walk like zombies and stink like zombies I think they're zombies!" Vic shouted as if to prove his point.

"I think Clair found out we have the Wand! Try to get near the dungeons. We need to give Roy the signal to wake everyone up!" Teddy shouted instead and Vic gave a grunt to comply. Letting go of one of Teddy's arms so the other boy could reach into his jacket pocket.

"Hey little guy," Teddy said to the blue puff of fur that he took out. Fuzz, his pet Puffskein, emitted a startled little squeak back.

"Sorry for the bumpy ride but my friend's got some food for you down below. You're just going to have to go through a bit of a ride."

"Ted! Stop talking to it and just throw it!" Vic hollered as they neared the only window leading to the dungeons.

Ted gulped but, after a silent apology, tossed Fuzz through the window. Puffskein's were quite durable and didn't mind being tossed around but he still felt slightly guilty for his little pet.

Fuzz had brilliantly blue fur, very much like Ted's hair and it was very noticeable as it was hurled through the grates that sealed up the window.

"If Fuzz doesn't find Roy we're in trouble," Vic muttered as he looked up over the Hogwarts grounds. Teddy followed his gaze and felt slightly terrified when he noticed the zombies were closing on their position. No doubt they'd noticed their escape through the Gryffindor windows and were coming after them.

"Just how many dead people are there at Hogwarts?" Vic asked and Teddy thought a bit to himself. Technically, whether or not the body was buried on the grounds or not, anyone or anything that died at Hogwarts could be reawaken. This also counted those that died in the Wizarding Wars as their souls had made this their final resting place. The thought was making Ted a bit sick and quickly stopped thinking about it.

Vic and Teddy circled the area slightly. Hoping Roy would give his signal that Fuzz had indeed managed to find Roy, lured by the smell of food and warmth.

"Come on, come on," Teddy muttered under his breath but finally, a stray spark of fire shot through the grate that Ted had thrown Fuzz through earlier.

It was almost immediately followed by an even bigger flame as it burst into a giant shower of sparks above them, illuminating half the grounds before sizzling out like a fireworks display.

"That's my bro!" Vic said happily, "He's probably woken up half the castle already. Now let's go find Clair."

Ted nodded in satisfaction before both boys made a beeline into the Forbidden Forest.

In a way they had planned this. The initial idea was for Roy to take care of any threats with the help of the rest of the school and Vic and Ted would take down Clair on their own. As two magical boys on Hogwarts grounds, they had the advantage over Clair who was essentially a Muggle that couldn't use magic.

Of course, they never exactly realized that Clair knew this too.

A blast from below slammed into Vic and he just barely managed not to faceplant the two into the ground.

"What the hell?!" he shouted as Teddy wrestled himself to his feet.

"Good evening Mr. Lupin. You boys are certainly out of your rooms late," an sickly sweet voice said.

"Professor Heartfilia," Teddy said instead, drawing out his wand while Vic did the same behind him.

"Drawing your wand on a teacher? Now that's a bit cruel. Don't make me deduct house points boys," Heartfilia said almost cheerily as she stepped out of the shadows by the Forest with her own wand drawn.

Teddy's eyes narrowed as his eyes were drawn to the Stone Heartfilia was happily holding in her left hand. So it was her behind the loose spirits.

"Zombies," Vic whispered behind him.

Teddy turned his head slightly, careful not to let Heartfilia out of his sight, and realized Vic wasn't trying to correct him. The zombies were indeed making their way towards them. No doubt being ordered by Heartfilia, the ringleader for them all.

"Where's Clair?" Teddy said, now just realizing that of course Clair wouldn't be on Hogwarts. He'd send Heartfilia or some other witch or wizard instead. Someone much more skilled in this domain than he was.

"Young Master is currently away on business," Heartfilia said with a casual shrug, "He expressed his warm desire to meet you one last time before he left but I'm afraid we're on a bit of a tight schedule. It would be in your best interest now if you could give back what is rightfully ours."

"We don't have it," Teddy shouted at her. Of course no one would believe him but hey, he'd tried.

"And even if we did. If you want it you're going to have to come and get it!" Vic shouted, firing a stunning spell only for Heartfilia to deflect it with a wave of her wand.

Heartfilia eyes with a flash of confidence, "My family has been the sole protectors of the Leonelli family heirs for generations. Do you honestly think you can defeat me with your childish knowledge of magic?"

Ted gave her a grin, "Honestly? We can't defeat you," he admitted in mock surrender.

"But we know someone who can!" Vic shouted back enthusiastically.

And as if on cue a line of fire was drawn into the ground, separating Teddy and Vic from Heartfilia. The zombies around them also shrank back from the heat and Ted found himself grabbed and lifted off the ground.

"We'll leave her to you Roy!" he shouted behind them as Vic flew as fast and as far away from them as possible.

He just made out Roy's black head give an empathetic nod before he turned into a speck in the distance.

"You sure that was a good idea?"

"As long as Roy's got the Cube with him. No magic can touch him," Vic said proudly, "Either way he's a much better match than we would ever be. Roy knows way more magic than we do!"

Ted nodded but then a though struck him, "Where are we even going?" Ted shouted up to Vic.

"No clue! I can't fly all the way to Hogsmeade. It's too far!"

"Put us down for now. Save up your energy," Ted said and Vic gratefully landed them on the other side of the grounds.

"The Hogsmeade graveyard is on the way there anyways and it's probably crawling with these guys. We'd be dead as soon as we got off the grounds," Ted said with a frown.

"Less thinking. More running!" Vic said, as the telltale hoard of zombie groans seemed be upon them in moments.

"How many of these things are there?"

The boys chose a random direction and booked it across the field before an idea dawned on him.

"Wait. The Whomping Willow!" Ted said, changing direction as Vic skidded to follow him.

"Remember last year when the Death Eaters invaded the castle?" Teddy asked to Vic's questing glance. "They had this little entrance from the Shrieking Shack out to Hogsmeade. We can use that.

"Unless someone's boarded it up already."

Teddy frowned. He really hoped not. The Shrieking Shack wasn't exactly a popular destination for anyone so with luck the tunnel would still be there when they got there. _If_ they got there.

A hoard of the zombies blocked their way to the Willow causing Ted and Vic to slow their sprint to a stop and rethink their options.

"I can fly over them," Vic said, looking ready to do just that but before he was able to act several shouts were heard behind them.

"CONFRINGO!" they shouted in perfect unison and suddenly their way was clear.

"Matt! Travis!" Vic said in a whoop of delight as their Gryffindor prefect and Quidditch coach captain ran out from the shadows.

"Well? What're you waiting for pipsqueaks? Go go go!" Travis shouted over to them as the two boys stood back to back, taking on the zombies that circled them.

"Roy said you guys have a plan to stop this crazy stuff," Matt explained as he sent another spell hurtling towards the pile of zombies blocking the way, "So get moving before I put you all in detention."

Ted felt a wave of relief as he laughed at the boys before he and Vic gave determined nods and resumed their run towards the Willow.

"Thanks guys!" Vic called back.

"Yeah! You two owe us big time when this is over!"

It took a lot of careful manoeuvring to make it past the Whomping Willow's swaying branches but at least the zombies were steering clear of the tree for that.

From there, it was only a few more steps until they reached the tunnel dug out from the Shrieking Shack that led into Hogsmeade. Teddy breathed an internal sigh of relief to find that the entrance hadn't been sealed up and before long, the two boys were racing down the deserted streets of Hogsmeade.

Although Ted had a feeling they wouldn't be deserted for long. The stench of decaying flesh was already wafting in from the direction of the Hogsmeade graveyard and Ted had a suspicion that the epidemic that was taking Hogwarts had slowly spread to the adjoining neighbourhoods.

"Where are we going?" Vic asked once they'd barrelled their way into the Three Broomsticks and had to stop to take a breather.

At this time of night, the pub was practically deserted, Madame Rosmerta had probably retired for the night and left the cleaning and closing up to her staff.

"We need to find Clair."

"How the heck are we going to do that?"

"I don't know!"

"Excuse me boys but it's almost closing time," a young waitress told them, noticing Teddy's vibrant hair in the dreary room, "Aren't you supposed-"

"We were just leaving!" Teddy interrupted before she could accuse them of leaving the Hogwarts grounds. He quickly pushed Vic into a Floo by the back of the pub and threw down a handful of Floo powder.

"Dad!" Teddy said as they remerged in the Lupin's living room. The only person he could rely on to help him in a time of trouble would have to be his dad. He'd probably get into some major trouble for it but Ted figured this was a bit more important.

"Dad!" Ted shouted again only to realize the house was deserted.

"He probably got called back to Hogwarts!" Vic said throwing his arms up in frustration.

"And Mum probably went with him," Teddy groaned, collapsing on the couch.

"Or maybe she got called down to the Ministry on account of zombies invading England!"

"Enough with the zombies Vic," Teddy sighed. Even he was starting to call them zombies and it was getting rather frustrating.

"Not enough with the zombies until everything that's supposed to be good and dead _stays_ good and dead. Bloody hell Ted what if the Muggles see them? What if we go to war?"

Ted frowned, he didn't think it'd get to that extreme but Vic did have a point...and then he had it.

"Q!" Ted shouted, jumping to his feet and grabbing a confused Vic by the shoulders, shaking frantically.

"If people find out about the zombies they'll know about magic and that's like a 'threat to national security'," Ted went on, emphasizing Q's words from last summer with air quotes, "Q's bound to want to help. Or rather, Q would help whether he wanted to or not...but he's our only chance Vic!"

Vic shook himself out of his friend's grasp and nodded excitedly.

"So what're on right now? Plan D or E?"

"No clue. Let's go. You still remember the way to his place?" Ted asked, grabbing a spare jacket from the hallway closet.

"Yeah. But how do you even know he's home?" Vic suddenly asked, with a more thoughtful frown.

Ted shrugged, "Won't know until we go. It's better than staying here."

And with that the two boys ran out into the yard where Vic quickly grabbed Ted's arms and took off for the Rodor house.

"Ted?" Vic asked, almost right after they'd taken off and Ted looked up at him only to find a concerned frown.

"You said yourself Roy will be fine," Ted pointed out and Vic shook his head before giving a wry grin.

"Yeah I know. But your parents are going to _kill_ us."

* * *

It was a bit past midnight when Aristotle Rodor was shaken out of his daze in front of the television by frantic banging on the door.

"Who in the world?" he muttered, checking the time.

With uncertain steps he approached the front door and peeked through the peephole. What he saw had him wrenching the door open in just a few moments, confusion and anger on his face.

"Do you have any idea what time it is boys?" he shouted, "Do your parents even know you're here?"

"We need to see your son!" Teddy and Vic shouted back and Rodor gave him a confused look.

"He's back in America with his family."

Ted's mind froze in panic and he was left staring helplessly at the elderly doctor in front of him before he blinked.

"Wait, no, your other son," Ted clarified a bit more calmly.

"Oh the pylon?"

At Ted and Vic's frantic nods the doctor sighed before motioning the two wide eyed children up the stairs, "He came back this morning after almost a week. Holed himself up in his room since. Probably had a fall out with his wife."

"Thanks Doctor!" Ted interrupted before the man could go off on a rant. He and Vic gave a wave to the other man as they took the stairs two at a time.

"Q!" Ted hissed, wary that the doctor may still be downstairs listening, "It's me, Ted! Open up it's important!"

No reply came from the door except a rattling sound.

"Q? Oi! Open up!"

The rattling sound started up again.

Ted and Vic exchanged nervous looks.

"Scoot over Ted," Vic said, taking out the magic knife he'd gotten last year for Christmas. Jamming the knife into the keyhole, both boys felt a moment of triumph as the lock clicked open before nervousness took its place. What if Q wasn't there?

"We're coming in!" Ted announced, pushing thoughts to the back of head and opening the door.

The first thing he noticed as he entered the room was the unsavoury smell of antiseptic and drugs that reminded him of some unpleasant summer memories.

The second thing he noticed was the mobile buzzing violently on the desk, its screen lit up casting a dim glow in the otherwise dark room.

Finally, turning around, the third thing Teddy noticed was the man on the bed, bare feed tangled with the sheets and bandages littering his frame. A glass of water was on the bedside but there didn't seem to be any sign of the pills Q had most likely consumed to get him into such a deep sleep.

Guilt chewed through Teddy for a bit until he stepped forward and shook Q's shoulder.

"Oi Q wake up," he said although without much effort, "Come on, please? We need you."

Still asleep, Q turned his head away with a frown and a bandaged hand rose up to swat Ted away as if he were an insistent fly.

"Hello?"

Ted jumped and turned to Vic who had taken the liberty to answer the phone.

"What're you doing?" Ted hissed but Vic ignored him.

"Um. No he's...out of commission right now," Vic continued into the phone, fiddling with it with a frown. "No like. He's asleep," Vic continued.

Ted gave a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah we shook him.." Vic said pausing as there was more chatter on the phone. "Ted," Vic finally whispered, covering the phone for a moment, "Dump the water on him."

"What water? This water?" Ted asked, pointing to the fairly full glass of water left on the nightstand. At Vic's nod Ted gave a sigh and with a muttered sorry to the sleeping man on the bed, upturned the glass onto his face.

After that it was only a moment of loud coughing and spluttering to get the man to full consciousness. He gave Ted and Vic a very questioning glance but before he could ask why the hell they were in his room, Vic wordlessly handed him the phone.

"Mmrph-eah?" Q groaned into the phone, still most likely feeling drugged and half asleep.

There was a moment of silence as whoever was on the other side talked. Ted took that moment to run into the connecting bathroom and grab a towel for the wet and miserable looking man still on the bed.

He tried to look deeply apologetic as he offered the towel but Q took it anyways with his usual silent indifference so he had no clue if it'd been successful.

After another round of silence, punctuated only by Q's grunts of responses into the phone, he covered the speaker to ask the two boys:

"Zombies?"

Teddy blushed a bit but still gave him a firm nod and Q raised an eyebrow before getting back the phone.

"Some leads already. Give me an hour. Expect guests," Q finished before ending the call and heaving himself to his feet.

"You OK?" Ted asked a bit worriedly, eyeing the bandages wrapped around the main's hands and torso. He also had a large gash along his jaw that wasn't yet bandaged and Ted felt uncomfortable looking at the stitches holding it together. Muggles had it rough when medicine was involved.

They didn't seem to be particularly bothering Q though, or perhaps he was just too drugged up to feel the pain as he slowly walked into the bathroom.

"Fine. Just. Need a minute," Q mumbled, closing the door behind him.

Ted heard the sounds of water running from the shower and gave Vic a frown. His friend shrugged back.

"You think we did the right thing?"

"Don't think it matters Ted. The guy calling him seemed to be pretty insistent that we had to wake him up anyways. In a sense we did the Secret Service a favour."

Ted sighed and still wrung his hands together guiltily as he sat on the slightly damp bed.

Vic sat beside him in silence and after perhaps the fastest shower Ted had ever witnessed, Q emerged from the bathroom looking tired and rumpled but fully dressed. He'd even put a bandage on the cut on his jaw line to cover it up.

"Ready to go? he asked, pocketing his phone as he ran a towel through his hair. He looked more awake than before at least so that was good.

The boys nodded, running out of the room and down the stairs.

"About time you came out pylon. You better be driving those kids back home you hear?" Tot Rodor called from the living room, television still on.

"Mrm," was Q's only response as he put on his trenchcoat from the coat rack.

"And the garbage needs to be taken out!"

Ted could have sworn Q rolled his eyes but it was hidden as the man put on his fedora.

"What happened to your face?"

Ted jumped when he realized the doctor had made his way to the front door and Q, equally startled, reared back as his father rounded on him with a curious yet stern expression.

"Shaving incident," Q said with an indifferent shrug, fingering the bandage he'd placed over the wound before turning to usher Teddy and Vic out the door.

Teddy hardly believed a shaving incident was responsible for the wound and Rodor probably didn't think so either, being a doctor and all."

"And what's wrong with your hand?"

Ted winced as Q's bandaged hand froze from fidgeting with his jaw and promptly went still at his side. His other hand was shoved deeper into his trenchcoat's pocket.

"Got caught in the door. Hard to shave after that," Q said with an air of indifference. Dr. Rodor narrowed his eyes at his son.

"Pylon-" Dr. Rodor warned, a speech no doubt in the works but Q cut him off.

"Will bring the boys home," he stated firmly, "And take out the garbage when I get back. And do the dishes and change the light bulb and fix the sink and whatever else you want. Leaving. Now."

Ted shrank back a bit at the clear agitation from Q. Probably for being woken up in the middle of the night, soaking wet and being told he had to go in to work while he was still recuperating. And on top of that he had to have this wonderful conversation with his father who treated him like he was 13 instead of 30 and was still under the impression he was only useful for doing household chores. Not the best of combinations.

Dr Rodor was also stunned into silence at the frustration in Q's voice but with a push, Q had Vic and Ted out the door and down the steps.

"Renton."

That was Dr Rodor and Ted watched Q freeze on the landing, face going from stern to furious. Ted stopped Vic from going fleeing to the car. The last time he'd seen Q furious was when he decided it was appropriate to throw a television and Teddy wanted to be there in case things got bad. Not that he'd be able to do anything but he still felt somewhat responsible for the other man's bad mood in the first place.

"Don't call me that," Q snapped, seemingly having completely forgotten about the two boys starring wide eyed as the fight escalated.

"Can't I call my son by his name?"

"You don't think of me as your son," the way Q said it was so matter of fact that Ted suspected he'd acknowledged this fact many, many years ago.

Dr Rodor's eyes seemed to flirt through a bunch of different emotions until they settled on one that, to Ted, was just plain sad.

"I know I've always held you at arm's length Renton but you will always been my son," the doctor said with guilt in his voice but Q turned away.

"You introduce me to your colleagues as 'the one who didn't get into med school'," was his final say before storming his way to the car, the boys scrambling in after him.

Ted dared not glance back to the stunned man left in the doorway. He had a feeling it'd break his heart.

The drive after was so ridiculously tense for the first few minutes that Ted wasn't really surprised when Q got sick of it, parked by the side of the road and went out for a smoke with a muttered apology. He left the headlights on though so Teddy wasn't too worried.

"Tell him not to go too far," Vic whispered as they watched the silhouette of the man practically disappear into the shadows of the nearby forest.

"He'll be fine. Let him cool off first," Ted said, trying to get comfy in the back seats. Now that they were relatively safe he was starting to feel tired from the day's excitement but his anxiety stubbornly refused to let him sleep.

He had almost fallen asleep when he heard something that sounded like a gunshot echo down the empty lane.

BANG

Teddy jumped as if electrocuted, grabbing for Vic beside him and definitely not in the least bit tired anymore.

"Please let that be Q please let that be Q," Ted heard Vic mutter, "Merlin Ted what if this is like those movies where the guy goes out and never comes back and the kids in the backseat just wait here forever and eventually get eaten by opff-"

Ted punched him and Vic shut up.

They sat in silence for the grand total of one minute before both boys seemed to have a simultaneous breakdown and Ted clambered into the driver's seat to honk the horn loudly.

They waited for another few seconds before Teddy honked again and the pattern repeated until Q re emerged from the forest.

"What's wrong?" He asked, breathing heavily and confused. No doubt he was probably expecting a battle only to get two terrified kids instead.

"Don't leave!" Teddy complained, throwing open the driver's door and throwing his arms around the startled man's stomach, "You want a smoke that's ok but we're coming too next time don't just leave us here what if you don't make it back?"

"I don't want to get eaten!" Vic interrupted from the back seat.

Q blinked several times before he awkwardly patted Ted on the head until Teddy let go and was silently coaxed back into the back seats.

"Right. Won't leave," Q said as he quickly got into the car.

"Promise?" Both the boys asked simultaneously, eyes huge as the man seemed to glance at them in the rear view mirror.

"Promise."

And as the car sped away at a near breakneck speed, Ted and Vic were blissfully unaware of the hoard of zombies that filled Q's mirrors just behind them.

* * *

_AN: It's cliche but heck all stories need a zombie apocalypse. I didn't want them constantly chased by spirits because that just doesn't sound dangerous/scary enough._

_Next chapter will star Roy and Remus for the most part. Maybe with some Snape thrown in._


	22. The Patronus

_AN: slight references to chapter 24 in the edited version of A Year To Be Remembered._

* * *

On the night that it all went down, Remus and Tonks had taken the luxury of watching Muggle soap operas on the television they had gotten for Christmas. Granted, they only had a few channels but no one seemed to mind and it was rather peaceful to watch events play out in full picture rather than on the wireless.

It wasn't until Remus switched over to the Muggle's BBC news though that the sense of peace vanished.

"Breaking News: a number of creatures have been seen roaming the streets throughout Britain causing panic in the countryside. So far, two deaths have been reported. The victims appear to have been mauled to death as if by rabid animals but witnesses claim the creatures are humanoid in structure. Do we have a cult group on our hands or is this the work of something else?"

Remus and Tonks glanced questioningly at each other before going back to the television as the station went on to interview witnesses.

"They're zombies!" a hysterical teenager shouted to the camera. "They're crawling, walking and floating about in packs. Some are missing limbs, others are see through and it's just damn freaky! They don't say a word to you like they're just waiting to eat us alive and then! Then they just disappear! They were attacking this poor guy on the side of the road one minute and then I blinked and they were all gone. The whole hoard of them just disappeared into thin air!"

CRACK

"Let me guess," Tonks said, already moving to grab her wand and cloak as Ronald Weasley took the liberty of apparating right into the family's living room.

"Zombies?"

Ron's eyes were huge as he nodded quickly.

"We need you Tonks. Harry's out of commission tonight from that botched attack and the whole Ministry's going completely mental. It's no wonder the Muggles got wind of this. Reports are coming in all over Britain!"

"Merlin, news travels fast now a days," Remus muttered, eyes still glued to the television screen.

"News of sudden emergences of strange and dangerous creatures have not been uncommon in the past few years," the reporter went on. "Sightings of flying creatures, sudden weather changes and suspicious deaths have been circulating for years. The most recent disturbance being an enormous wolf suddenly appearing in a town on the outskirts of London."

Remus winced.

"Are all these events related? Is this the works of a terrorist group? Is this the beginning of biological warfare? Will the government send assistance?" The reporter fired off every question as if life depended on it and everyone in the Lupin's living room felt a sense of panicked urgency course through them.

"Remus!" a shout was heard as the fireplace in the dining room sprang to life.

"Oh Merlin," Remus said, bolting out of his seat to see Headmistress McGonagall's head in his fireplace.

"There's an emergency Remus! We need all the staff on hand!"

"They're in Hogwarts too?!" Tonks shouted as she ran upstairs to get changed.

Remus threw on his cloak as well.

"This cannot be happening," Ron muttered, echoing Remus's thoughts as he crashed into his wife on the landing.

"I'll be at the Ministry."

"I'm going to Hogwarts."

"Stay safe."

"You too!"

A quick kiss and Tonks disaparated with Ron in tow and Remus hurled himself into the Floo.

"Zombies?" he asked breathlessly as he emerged in the Headmistress's office.

McGonagal gave a sigh. "According to the students it would appear that yes. Zombies would be an accurate term to describe them. We're working on barricading the entrances. All students are being relocated to the Great Hall. A handful of them are still outside."

"I'll retrieve them," Lupin said with a nod as he rushed out of the room.

He promptly crashed into one Severus Snape as soon as he turned the corner. They didn't even bother with the usual snide remarks.

"Coming?" Remus asked instead.

Snape nodded.

"Lead the way then. I still can't believe this is happening."

The two men took off at a run, sprinting out onto the grounds where indeed the battle of the century seemed to be taking place. The students and teachers were obviously winning though as each spell blasted more and more of the zombies back towards the darkness of the Forest. Still, this didn't seem to deter any of the creatures. They just got back up and resumed their stumbling movements towards the castle.

Lupin and Snape had their wands drawn but still paused for a breath after their run from the top floor of Hogwarts. Remus had a hand on his chest and grumbled. He didn't really consider himself unfit. For fifty years old actually he thought he was doing well. Just, as a teacher, physical exercise wasn't really part of his job description and he'd long ruled himself out as a sprinter in the first place.

"Slowing down Lupin," Snape said with a noticeable huff and Remus grinned.

"I got shot in the chest this summer. What's your excuse?"

Snape remained silent and Lupin gave another puff of laughter.

"Damn we're getting old."

Snape straightened, raising his wand and blasting a row of zombies back another step.

"I suppose this is the time most people say 'you're only as old as you feel'," he muttered.

Remus did laugh then, a full and proper one as he too raised his wand.

"Yeah. But who ever said we were most people?"

And granted, with the reassurance that the students could handle the threat without major risk, he'd been feeling pretty thrilled to get to play into some action. Remus was a Marauder after all.

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia on the other side of Hogwarts was not having such a thrilling time.

She'd been expecting retaliation from a certain metamorphagus and was fully prepared to trap the boy and ship him off to her Master to be dealt with. However, upon realizing that Teddy's friends were much more than she expected, she found her plan slowly crumbling to pieces.

While Vic was always seen flying around here and there on the Hogwarts grounds, Roy rarely used his phoenix powers in public. Heartfilia knew he was adept at magic but she hadn't considered the quiet Slytherin to be much of a threat other than simply being calmer and more analytic than the other two.

So, when the she found herself encased in a circle of enchanted flames she couldn't help but feel that perhaps she had underestimated the boy.

She shot a spell out and the flames easily gobbled them up. Roy was on the other side of the circle but he was too busy thinking up a plan to stop the approaching zombie hoard than to spend time gloating.

He couldn't keep the flames up forever and Heartfilia would no doubt find a way to get out of his trap within the next few...

"Great," Roy muttered to himself as Heartfilia indeed managed to levitate herself out of the ring of fire.

She shot a few hexes at him but Roy was faster, ducking out of the way so that the zombies behind him got the brunt of the spells instead.

"Boy, do you think you can defeat me?" the enraged professor said, landing almost gracefully in front of him.

Roy didn't answer, instead backing up several steps while shooting off balls of fire from his hands.

"Aguamenti!"

Water couldn't hurt Roy's phoenix flames but the force of the spell was able to knock back the attacks so that they missed Heartfilia completely.

"Incendio!" the witch shouted as a burst of flames leaped out of the end of her wand.

"What in Merlin's name are you?" Heartfilia hissed as she watched Roy nullify her attack with his own flames.

Roy smirked.

"Just a boy who likes to play with fire."

As heat and flames assaulted Heartfilia once again she gave an enraged shout, casting off more spells that Roy easily evaded or countered.

"Really this is going to get us nowhere," Roy muttered, backing up more while conjuring up more fire to stall the zombies around them. The zombies seemed to have no qualms in diving straight into the fire. Many were left smoking and charred until they were forced to retreat or risk disintegrating into ash. Still, they were annoying and the fire seemed to be drawing more and more towards Roy's location, not something the boy was pleased about. He had enough attention as it was without a whole pack of the living dead surrounding him.

He blasted off more fire in Heartfilia's general direction.

"Raise your wand and duel me like a proper wizard," Heartfilia shouted in retaliation.

"I'm not much for wands," Roy replied, "And honestly I have no intention of being a proper wizard."

Roy dodged an incoming spell.

"But tell you what. You tell me where that Master of yours is and I'll leave you alone."

Heartfilia looked furious. The little brat was humoring her. Her of all people!

"Now listen here you little-"

"No. You listen," Roy said coldly, "I can easily incinerate you in a few minutes and you know it. So cut the crap. Your little precious is literally destroying the world here for what? So he can be head of some family that's so old they've lost their magical roots?"

"Master Clair is the rightful heir to the Leonelli family," Hearfilia hissed, shooting several spells at the boy in quick succession, "The family may have lost their magic generations ago but you do not need _magic_ to do _business_."

"I guess that's something we both agree on," Roy replied with a shrug as his fire easily ate up the incoming spells. He personally was no fan of performing magic. It had branded him the moment he was born with prophecies and expectations that he had no desire to fulfill. It had taken memories from him that would probably mock him forever and even right now, it was responsible for all this crazy with zombies, spirits and enraged professors. Because some kid wanted to be the Master of Death for his birthday. Because some kid wanted magic and power so bad he was willing to kill for it.

And Roy couldn't allow himself to feel comfortable with that.

"But Clair doesn't think that way does he?" he finally replied.

Heartfilia paused with a mix of confusion and rage on her face. The blasted brat. He was just a boy. No child should talk about her Master as if he knew him!

But Roy wasn't just an average boy. He'd seen Clair, heard Teddy's stories of him and done his own research. By now he'd managed to paint a fairly predictable picture of their opponent and he was dying to share.

"Clair thinks magic is what's going to get him to the top. He's willing to risk everything: Hogwarts, Britain and even you. Just so he can get his hands on some of that power. He must have some serious daddy issues if he thinks this is what it's going to take to impress him."

Heartfilia was staring at him as if completely lost for words. Her eyes wide and horrified as Roy continued on, "Because when you've got it all in the Muggle world you latch on to the impossible-"

Roy would have continued if Heartfilia hadn't taken that moment to turn her back and sprint in the opposite direction.

"What the-" Roy said in mid lecture as he whipped around. Heartfilia hadn't been looking at him in fear after all.

He was expecting the zombies to be on him and had conjured up a wall of protective flame before he'd even turned his head. But then he noticed that the zombies were also retreating. They slunk off in a giant pack, crawling and pounding the ground with uneven steps as if they'd just given up on Roy and were going home.

_"Did Heartfilia call them off?" _Roy thought to himself as he forced his flames to settle.

But as soon as the heat from his flames vanished it was suddenly replaced by a bitter, unnatural cold.

Roy shivered, tensing his muscles in his uneasiness on whether he should fight or flee. He conjured up a ball of flame in his hand, holding it up to get more light in the silent night but no matter how much he squinted at shadows, he didn't see anything.

In confusion, he dropped the fire and decided it best to follow Heartfilia and head back to the Hogwart's main entrance where no doubt everyone would be defending. He'd just turned around when he heard it: A rattling whisper of air that physically chilled Roy to his core. The noise was getting closer and indeed it seemed that the dark night sky was actually getting darker, as if a giant black cloud was covering up what little moon that was shining that night.

Roy watched in wide eyed shock when the cloud descended over Hogwarts, expanding as it went until finally, Roy could actually make out individual creatures in the air. Dark, twisted, cloaked creatures that Roy had seen only once before, last year in the Hogsmeade graveyard.

"Bloody hell," Roy said as he looked on at the dementor cloud slowly drifting in from the direction of Hogsmeade. There were more than Roy had faced last year. No doubt all the loose souls and spirits drifting in and out of the most magical hot spot in Britain was enough for other dementors from all over to gather.

One of them stood out from the cloud and from Roy's position on the ground, he could see it leaving, racing up towards the castle and leading the rest of the pack towards his direction.

In a panic, Roy sparked a circle of flames around him and went into a crouched position. His right hand found his beloved Rubik's cube around his neck and clutched at it. His cube had been enchanted with almost every spell known to man and was powered by love from the woman now erased from Roy's memory. Still, he had faith in it to protect him. It had protected him from dementors, magical beasts, killing curses and just about everything already after all.

And yet again the Cube didn't disappoint. The dementors flew past Roy like a hive of bees. They missed his ring of fire by mere centimeters and Roy felt their chill and wisps of their cloaks on the top of his head. Depression lingered behind but Roy didn't lose the precious hope that fueled him and by the time the last dementor passed over his head, Roy determinedly stood up and ran off in the opposite direction towards the Great Hall entrance.

* * *

In the meantime, Lupin and Snape were busy helping the remaining students back into the school. The zombies were not decreasing in numbers no matter what spells were thrown at them and the teachers had agreed it would be easier to barricade themselves in Hogwarts and wait it out.

Remus had just cleared the path for the last batch of students before he felt the chilling sensation of dementors creep up through the grounds.

"I really need to bump the Patronus charm up a few years in the curriculum," Remus muttered as a scream from the students alerted the rest of the teachers to the looming threat above them.

Remus watched in awe as the pack of dementors descended on the zombies, sucking out their free ranging souls with surprising speed. A soul normally had strong connections with its body and would take several minutes for a Dementor to suck out but these zombies were simply spirits that had invaded the world of their living and rediscovered their bodies.

Without the soul keeping their bodies grounded, the flicker of life within each meat suit quickly corroded away, reduced to dust and bones as they had been before their revival.

"We need to get inside," Snape muttered as the dementors effortlessly worked their way up the pack and towards them, "The dementors can handle the zombies but the hoard isn't going to be able to sustain so many."

"They'll be craving more soon," Lupin finished.

"Come on you two!" Professor Bobo shouted out from the castle. It seemed that the last of the students had made their way safely back to the castle and the doors were getting ready to close.

Snape and Lupin took off at a run back inside.

"Professor Lupin! Professor Snape!"

Both professors skidded to a halt with equal feelings of dread. Lupin whipped his head around to find a small shadow making his way towards them. As the shadow got nearer, the lights from within Hogwarts illuminated his face better so that they could make out the boy's dark hair and Slytherin robes.

"Roy?!" Lupin shouted, setting off after him. Behind him he saw Snape giving Professor Bobo and the others the signal to close the doors. They'd find some other way of getting out of here.

Roy was being chased after by a pack of zombies who were in turn being chased by Dementors and every time the younger boy turned around a feeling of wild panic surged him forward. It took ages to get from one end of the Hogwarts grounds to the other on foot but fear was a strong motivator and on any normal occasion, Roy would be congratulating himself for his athleticism.

Still, he was slowing down, breathing coming out in panicked gasps as his feet crushed the grass in stumbling steps. He didn't have enough energy left to generate any more flames and while the Cube would protect his soul from Dementors, it wouldn't be able to keep him from being eaten or crushed to death by the pack behind him.

"Professor Lupin!" he shouted again and he saw with great relief as Teddy's father came running after him with Snape in tow.

Roy picked up speed. He saw the professors raise their wands, feet planted firmly, shoulders relaxed as their wands began drawing small circles in the air. They were in perfect sync without even meaning to be. Just two war veterans standing side by side, building up the strength of their magic until...

"EXPECTO PATRONUM"

As a doe and wolf cub erupted from their caster's wands, Roy felt compelled to duck out of the way, raising his hands over his head as the animals streaked past him.

The dementors gave a shriek, shying away from the light and the zombies seemed equally stunned. Roy took this moment to give a final sprint until he was safely behind Lupin and Snape.

"Roy are you alright? Where's Ted?" Remus asked, reaching for the boy and bending down to eye level as Roy tried to catch his breath.

Snape watched the Patronuses make work of the dementors and fired off several more spells to hold off the zombies.

"Teddy and Vic...They're trying... To find... Clair," Roy panted in between breaths.

It took Remus a full minute before he remembered who Clair was. Roy could see the confusion on his face.

"Clair. The kid that wants to be the Master of Death. He and Heartfilia are behind all this," Roy paused again to suck in more air, "Heartfilia and Clair's other minions must have found the Resurrection Stone in the Forest. That's why all this crazy stuff is happening. The spirits and souls of the dead from all over Britain are rising again!"

Remus and Snape shared equally alarmed glances before Snape went to work casting a Protego spell around them to hold off anything approaching for the time being.

"Do you know where they are now?" Lupin asked, returning his attention to Roy who shook his head.

"Ted and Vic are probably off searching for Clair. I don't know where though. I stayed behind to take on Professor Heartfilia but she ran off somewhere when the Dementors showed up. She might have gone after Teddy. She thinks he has the Elder Wand."

"_Does_ he have the Elder Wand?" Remus asked. What in Merlin's name had his son been doing?

"No..." Roy said, frowning before digging for something in his pocket.

"I do."

Lupin and Snape gapped at the boy as he withdrew the piece of polished wood from his inner clock pocket.

"Teddy said it'd be better if I held on to it. Since I'll be staying at Hogwarts and can actually use it."

Lupin and Snape stared some more causing Roy to fidget a bit before continuing his explanation.

"The Dolohovs are decedents of Antioch Peverell, the original holder of the Wand. We think that should be enough to unlock the Wand's new master since it hasn't been used in over a decade. Even if it doesn't unlock, it'll still behave like a regular wand but it has a Threstal hair core."

"Ted's not compatible. His wand has a dragon core," Remus said with a thoughtful frown and Roy nodded, "And Vic's more compatible with phoenix cores." He then took out his own wand and showed it to the professors, "But mine's Threstal," he continued with a shrug, "so we figured I was the best fit anyways."

The rattling of a Dementor's scream stopped any further questioning. The dementors seemed to have finished up the remaining zombies and were regrouping. No doubt they were still hungry and had pinpointed their targets to the three remaining souls on the grounds.

By now the Patronuses had fizzled out as well and would have to be recast and Remus muttered something about boys always getting into trouble before focusing his attention back to the situation on hand. Other questions would have to wait.

"Let me help," Roy interrupted, pocketing his own wand and grasping the Elder Wand firmly in his hand.

Remus looked back down at the boy. "A Patronus is an immensely complicated spell," he cautioned, "regardless if you have the Elder Wand or not, it takes months of practice to cast one."

Roy just looked at him.

Remus sighed. Harry Potter had conjured a Patronus when he was thirteen and he had to admit Roy had a more natural talent for magic than Harry had. The Slytherin seemed to have an uncanny ability to remember everything, down to the minute details of wand movement and posture which made him easily excel in almost all forms of magic. A simple flick of the wrist and a muttered incantation was all Roy needed to see to be able to duplicate it.

"Expecto Patronum!" Roy said, impatient with Remus's stalled decision.

Nothing happened.

Roy frowned at his wand. He'd never failed in duplicating a spell he'd seen before. He was sure he'd categorized everything perfectly when Snape and Lupin had conjured up their Patronuses.

"A Patronus can't be analyzed and duplicated Roy. Each one is different," Remus said and Roy shot him a glare.

"Then teach me," he demanded as Snape shot out a patronus of his own behind them. The dementors backed off for a bit as the doe glided past them, flying up and regrouping. The stalled a bit but Snape wouldn't be able to keep up the Patronus forever. Once it dissolved the dementors would be back for them.

"Don't give me the complicated stuff just tell me what to do. Step by step," Roy said hurriedly, eyeing the ominous pack of dementors above them.

"Right. Defence Against Dementors For Dummies it is," Remus agreed, raising his wand and Roy quickly copied his stance so that there were two wands now pointed at the cloud of Dementors

"Now think of the happiest moment. The happier the memory the more powerful the charm."

Roy turned to Lupin with a frown.

"Think of Teddy and Vic and your friends," Remus said helpfully, "Think of the fun you had at the Summer Fair and the adventures you had in your first year. Think of when you first met Teddy or when you and Vic got your Hogwarts letters. The thrill of a successful plan. The excitement and the laughs."

Roy closed his eyes, letting the memories trigger themselves in his mind.

Remus kept talking in light tones as he too remembered his Hogwarts days, when his world consisted of nothing but a stag, a dog and even a rat. The success of a good prank. The laughs and the scheming. The accomplishments and adventures. And above all, the feeling of being loved and accepted.

And then he thought of Dora and their marriage and Teddy's birth as he'd always done and suddenly conjuring a Patronus seemed like the easiest thing in the world.

Roy was busy in his own thoughts. Christmas at the Lupins, Teddy, Vic, Hogwarts and everything from last year all built up in his head until his eyes finally snapped open.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Both man and boy shouted at the same time, filled by determination and hope.

As expected, Remus's wolf shot out of his wand in no time at all and streaked towards the pack of dementors, leading the way past Snape's doe.

Roy on the other hand needed a bit more effort. Remus turned to look at the silvery mass of light that was circling Roy's wand in astonishment.

Roy was breathing much too quickly, eyes wide in amazement and delight as the swirls danced around the tip of the Elder Wand.

_"Come on. I can do this,"_ Roy thought to himself with a strange sort of glee, _"We're going to defeat Clair and then I'm going to get to play football with Ted and wrestle with Vic and watch the stars and play my music. We'll go back to the Fair and ride the Ferris Wheel and spend Christmases together. There's so much out there to be explored and I want to see it all."_

And with that last thought, Roy redirected his attention back to the dementor pack and the whispers of light took shape and solidified; first with wings that stretched out, then paired with a head and a feathery tail. Both professors watched in stunned amazement as the small boy before them directed his wand higher into the sky. They watched as the tail shook and the wings expanded out, flapping once to give the form enough clearance to make the rest of the body emerge from the tip of the wand.

Finally, the magestic pheonix rose up into the sky in a dazzling display of white light. Roy couldn't help a little smile as it soared higher to follow the doe and wolf in forcing back the dementors. It's wings were beautiful, every feather was in exactly the right place as it glided silently towards the other patronuses.

The professors actually had to shield their eyes from the light. Funny how the Elder Wand, the embodiment of Death, could create something so pure and elegant.

With three patronuses, the dementors screeched and hissed before the majority disappeared, fleeing back to their old hideouts in wizard graveyards and old alleyways. The few that lingered behind were eventually singled out and chased after by the three giant animals.

The three wizards below could only watch in amazement and pride as their spiritual animals did their work.

Eventually, all the dementors were gone, the zombies had retreated or their souls had been sucked out and there were only three left on the deserted Hogwarts grounds.

Roy felt a hand pat him on the shoulder, he looked up to a grin from his Defense teacher. Even Snape behind him was watching him with a small, pride filled smirk before he managed to collect himself in front of his student. The mask of neutrality slipping back into place.

"As a Gryffindor, it pains me to say this," Lupin began with a grin as the boy looked up at him, "But I think that deserves a good fifty points to Slytherin."

And Roy, in a rare display of true happiness, grinned back.

He supposed magic had some good uses after all. Even if, deep down, he'd always known that.


	23. MI6

_"Give me the wand Lupin. I'm waiting for you. We're almost done this little game. When you're ready you know where to find me."_

Teddy was awoken from his dream to Q shaking him and he jumped into full alertness when he realized it was because they'd reached their destination. Vic was also being roused beside him. He rubbed his eyes, thinking about the little snippets of dream that he'd been having. He could have sworn Clair had been in it...

"Change your hair," Q said, eying the two magical boys in his back seats. Ted and Vic were still dressed in their Hogwarts uniforms, cloaks and everything and Ted had to admit it was a bit out of place in Muggle London.

"This is so cool," Vic whispered, getting out of the car as Teddy reverted back to his natural hair color.

"It's MI6. It's actually MI6," Vic said, jumping up and down excitedly as they walked up the steps of the ziggurat shaped building.

Ted shushed him. Although it was rather impressive. It was still the wee hours of the morning and the building was lit up like a Christmas tree. The soft, yellow glow from nearby lights cast onto the building made it seem as if the walls were painted in gold.

Q led the way, flashing an ID card to the waiting receptionist on the ground floor who raised an eyebrow at the two children from her desk. Vic and Ted smiled nervously back and the receptionist wordlessly handed Q two extra tags.

"Put these on," he said, handing Vic and Ted their own visitors passes before ushering them through a creepy metal thing Teddy hadn't seen before. He went through it just fine and the lone security guard gestured him to move out of the way so Vic could come through. An alarm was raised causing Teddy jump.

"Kid remove everything in your pockets," the guard said in a bored tone.

Vic hid is discomfort and took out the two things in his pockets. His wand and his magical penknife. The guard frowned at it.

"It's my 'wand'," Vic said, stressing the term to seem like he was just a little kid playing dress up.

The guard rolled his eyes, it was way too early in the morning to fight with a kid with his head in the clouds, "Sure kid but I need to take the knife. You can pick it up at reception."

Vic, rather unhappily, handed his penknife to the guard who dropped it into a bin with an assortment of other metal objects.

Q was the last one through, having dropped his wallet, keys and cell phone into a bin that was passed through the metal detector. He went through fine as well and Teddy and Vic waited for him patiently by the elevators.

"They took my knife," Vic pouted once all three were in the elevator.

"At least you'll get it back," Ted reassured, "And at least they didn't take your wand."

"What's the point? I can't use it outside Hogwarts anyways."

Ted shrugged, "If the going gets tough. You might have to."

The elevator pinged their arrival and Ted was rather unimpressed to see it open to a row of plain offices.

"I didn't really expect the Secret Service to be so...boring," Teddy said but Q ignored him as he strode through the hall.

Most normal people would be in bed by now Ted supposed but then the hallway turned left and through a door and suddenly, life was blasting through the walls. Ted and Vic watched in dumbstruck awe as people bustled about in a flurry of organized chaos.

"Well if isn't the Quartermaster," a woman's voice said, the title said in almost a mocking tone, "It's about time you got here."

"Dinah," Q replied with a tilt of his head as a blonde haired woman strode up to them in the midst of the chaos.

"The bosses want your ass in the office. That's right. Boses. Plural," Dinah said with a frown before looking down at Ted and Vic. "Who're these two?"

"They're my leads," Q explained and motioned Teddy to introduce himself.

"Uh. Teddy Lupin," Teddy said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I'm Vic Sage," Vic said with a grin, raising a hand up.

The woman Q had mentioned as Dinah smiled at the boys and shook Vic's hand.

"Not every day we get kids here. Although there's usually a whole bunch during Take Your Kids To Work Day and all. I'm Dinah Lance."

Vic and Teddy beamed at her.

"So, your leads?" Dinah asked, turning back to Q, "I can see they're from Hogwarts."

Teddy and Vic looked at each other and then down to their uniforms.

"Lupin might have the means to track down the source," Q said offhandedly.

Dinah looked at Teddy who was equally clueless and could only shrug back at her.

"Well this better work Q. Everything's going crazy. Special Ops has already been deployed. Intel's got about a hundred sightings to track down, Information is working overtime to halt any more press and MI8s practically trying to shut down the internet."

Q hmmed before Ted and Vic found themselves facing a closed office door.

"You said boss_es_," Q finally said after staring at the door for a beat.

Dinah patted him on the shoulder, "Yeah. But you'll be fine."

Q gave a barely audible grumble before he opened the door.

A secretary looked up from her computer screen.

"Sir, Mr. Rodor is here," she said into the microphone before indicating Q to step through into the inner office.

"The commanders will see you now."

"Plural," Teddy heard Q mutter as he went through the door.

Ted only managed to see a large table of some elderly people in suits before it swung closed behind Q.

"Is Q going to be OK?" Ted asked, taking a seat in the secretary room.

Dinah grinned, "Oh he'll be fine. It's just some of the bosses can be real old and grumpy at times. They're not keen on the fact some kid like Q gets to be head of a department."

"Kid? He's like thirty." Vic scoffed for the enth time. It always seemed to be that everyone forgot that Q was rightfully an adult just like everyone else.

"Yeah and the rest of them are nearly seventy. To them. We're kids," Dinah said, pointing to herself, "And you're just a baby," she teased, ruffling Vic's hair.

Vic gave a very baby-like pout and Teddy snickered behind his hand before popping another question to Dinah.

"But what happened to his face?" Teddy asked, running a finger along his jaw line to mimic the gash on Q's face.

Dinah shrugged.

"Mission gone wrong. Don't worry about it. It won't slow him down."

"He goes on missions?" Vic asked, suddenly fascinated, "I thought he was just your info geek."

Dinah laughed, "Q gets his fair share of field work," she said with another shrug, "He's more useful on the field. He tests the gadgets, plots the maps and gets the data better than anyone else can do sitting in front of a computer."

Teddy was impressed. Vic was just jealous.

"So, everyone here knows about magic?" Vic asked, "Can I work here when I grow up?"

Dinah shrugged, "Sure if you want to. And no, not everyone knows about magic. Just certain branches. The government has a tight lid on things, they're more departments and special branches than you can count. It just so happens that it's four in the morning and everyone with half a brain is asleep. Which leaves us with just the magic folk for the next few hours. Hopefully we can avert the crisis before the daily workers come in."

"How do you know about magic?"

"My mother was a witch," Dinah explained, "Just about everyone working in a magic control branch has some sort of connection or relation to a magical relative. It makes things easier and you'd be surprised how many Muggles have some magical cousins or close friends."

"Even Q?" Ted asked, curious.

Dinah shook her head, "Honestly, I don't know much about Q but he's a bit different. We've got a guy downstairs who may be able to tell you if you're really that curious. He's known Q since they were kids."

Ted paused to think what Q as a child would feel like and got an image of a quiet boy who went off and did his own things. He couldn't really imagine Q having many friends. But he must have met Helena somehow...

"The magical world doesn't sound all that secretive anymore," Vic interrupted with a frown.

"Well the majority of the Muggles still don't know. They might suspect when their next door neighbors' owls start flying in through their window with misdirected mail but I'm sure your Ministry tries to keep that under control. As far as we know, the wizards don't know that we know. And we'll just let nature play its course."

Dinah winked at the boys who both nodded. They could keep secrets and both were fairly certain if they told any of the grownups they wouldn't believe it anyways. As far as the wizarding community was concerned, Muggles were clueless to magic and would continue to be with both the Ministry and the British government keeping tight lids on things.

A buzzing sound came from the desk causing both boys to jump.

"The generals would like to see the boys," the forgotten secretary said, motioning for Ted and Vic to go through the doors.

"Don't worry. They're not that scary," Dinah said reassuringly as Ted and Vic gave nervous glances to each other.

"Theodore Lupin and Victor Sage," an elderly man said as soon as they entered. Ted was a bit worried when he noticed his face staring back at him on a projector screen.

"You have us in your databases?" Vic asked sounding angry only to trail off as six pairs of eyes turned to them.

Q was slouched in a chair on the other side of the room, looking distinctly rumpled and tired when compared to the other five men and women dressed in crisp formal attire.

"Not for every magical child, no, but as the sons of Order of the Pheonix members and Voldemort's Death Eaters we do have a basic file drawn up for both of you," and elderly lady said almost gently. She was seated next to Q and Ted immediately counted her to be on the nicer side.

"I can see the Hogwarts robes," one woman said in a bored tone, "Now let's get on with this."

"Theodore. We just have a few quick questions," the nicer lady said, "From the information Renton has given us is it true that you may be able to find person behind the current magic crisis?"

Ted made the quick connection that Renton was indeed Q's real name before he sent the man a confused look.

"Some time along the way, your vampire friend has contracted with you in a Blood Pact," Q told him simply.

"What? That's impossible!" Teddy told him, bewildered. There was no way Clair had made a Blood Pact with him. He would have known!

"Perhaps you got into a fight with him and he managed to get some of your blood," Q went on calmly. "Would explain why you've been so interested in him all this time. Subconsciously, you're always thinking about him. You can sense when he's about to do something bad or when he's nearby."

"He sent people to break into my house! He got my dad shot! Of course I've been keeping tabs on him!" Teddy argued getting angry with Q's bland assessment of him.

"The zombies knew where you were," Q interrupted, "They followed you from Hogwarts up until we outran them in the car."

Teddy paused, stunned. He hadn't noticed they were being followed.

"You have neither of the two remaining Deathly Hallows. The only explanation is that the wielder of the Stone has a strong connection that makes him able to determine your location. As we speak, no doubt, that zombie hoard will continue to follow you here."

"Maybe he's right Ted," Vic said, suddenly, "You've gotten into a fight with him before and he busted up your face pretty bad that time in Snape's office. There was definitely blood then."

"Ok, so Clair made a Blood Pact with me," Ted sighed in defeat, anxious to move things along, "I don't see how that's supposed to help us find him though."

A murmur of agreement was brought up among the adults in the room.

"Have you had any dreams? Messages being sent to you? Strange feelings?" Q asked, ignoring the rest of the room. Ted thought to himself.

"I had a dream in the car coming here," he said, "And I think I got something similar during Christmas."

"What do you remember about these dreams?"

Ted rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Nothing really. Just words like _delicious_, and sentences like _I can't wait to see him again_. He's _happy I've made it so far_... random stuff really," he paused to frown.

"He said once that I'd know where to find him if I wanted to see him. But I honestly don't know," he said with a disappointed sigh.

"Have you ever tried to reach out to him?" Q asked and Ted shook his head, confused.

"A Blood Pact works both ways. If he can indeed communicate with you in your dreams and know your whereabouts, you can do the same."

"And how do I do that?" Ted asked, eyeing the silent yet professional crowd in front of him.

"Close your eyes and try to concentrate on just finding the boy, like meditation," Q suggested. Ted gave him a disbelieving look but tried anyways.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He grasped desperately for that connection he'd had in his dreams a few hours ago. He tried to simulate the same concentration he'd had during his first morph as a child. His mother had told him to told his eyes and concentrate on the outcome, reach deep inside you until you no longer feel any attachment to the physical plane and quietly draw that power out. It wouldn't work at once. It needed to be coaxed out, slowly but surely, until it would become second nature.

_"Clair. I know you're out there. Tell me where you are."_

There was complete silence.

Ted blocked out the people in the room, Vic vanished beside him and the grownups were eaten up by the shadows. His heart stopped hammering and his breathing evened.

_"Clair. You want us to finish this game? Then tell me where you are."_

More silence. And then static. And then finally, after a lifetime of waiting and concentrating, Teddy heard a laugh.

His eyes snapped open. Everything coming back into focus in an instant.

"I know where he is," he said in amazement and Q gave him a smile. Teddy felt like he could fly.

* * *

"He's in Sicily," one of the men concluded gruffly.

"Smart boy. We can't send out a force to get him. Not without a lot of paperwork over international borders."

"Not to mention Special Ops is kind of spread thin as it is," someone else mentioned.

Ted and Vic nervously stood next to each other in the back of the room as all the adults poured over their computers and information screens.

"I'll go," everyone turned to look at Q who had just spoken.

"Yeah. Send the runt to go," a woman said with complete sarcasm.

Q held up three fingers.

"I just need three. The paperwork for a smaller group will be easier. We'll neutralize the threat and you can send a later force to do cleanup."

"You really think your little group of techies is going to be enough?"

"My success rate is on par with Special Ops. I've been tracking the Leonelli's movements for some time. I have the best equipment and data at my disposal. Unless you want to risk this going on for longer than necessary while you try to clear a whole Special Ops team through Italian borders to take out a mere child."

The group of critics remained silent.

"Gentlemen," the lady Ted deemed the 'nice lady' interrupted, "I believe we have an agreement. Chang, please have the paperwork done by noon. The rest are free to go," the elderly lady sitting next to Q said, waving her hand and sending the others away

Two women disappeared effortlessly. Their jobs done. The third was the gruff man who had read off Teddy and Vic's names upon their first entrance.

"With all due respect Ma'am, I don't think this is a good idea," he said, jabbing a finger at Q, "He's a loose cannon."

Teddy glared at the man.

"I trust Renton to get the job done quickly," the commander replied a most professional tone, "From my understanding this is a result of a boy's thirst for power. A simple fix for simple problems."

"So you stick some mental kid to go after another mental kid."

"Really," the remaining man said, kicking his feet up on the desk. Ted recognized this was the 'Chang' that had been placed responsible for the paperwork.

"The rest of you just need to focus on containing the shockwave and keeping the public safe. We all trust Renton. He's got this covered. And I'll pick the remaining three myself."

The gruff man glared at his laid back co-worker before getting up in a huff.

The others didn't watch him leave.

"Right. I trust you two can handle the rest?" the woman said, also preparing to leave.

"I'll need the boys," Q suddenly interrupted as if he hadn't been the topic of discussion within the last few minutes.

The woman paused and looked at Teddy and Vic.

"They are merely children."

"I was a child when you recruited me. Practically threw me into the lion's den while you were it," Q said with a shrug.

The woman frowned.

"You were much older. And I saw potential in you."

"I see potential in them. More than what I had."

Ted felt himself beam with pride at Q's words and he grinned at the man in thanks.

The woman sighed.

"Well. They're not part of my staff. Whatever they decide is up to them. But they're in your hands if they choose to follow you."

All eyes turned to Teddy.

"I trust Q. I'm going," Teddy said, determinedly.

"And there's no way in bloody hell Ted gets to go on an adventure and not me," Vic said.

The boys shared a grin and that seemed to be good enough for the grownups.

"Very well then. I leave the rest to you. I trust you'll have your own resources."

"Yes Ma'am," Q replied quietly.

And with that, the woman left, leaving Teddy, Vic, Q and the man named Chang in the conference room.

"Right. Better get started," Chang said, stretching with a yawn. He got up, Ted noticed a slight limp as the greying haired man walked around the table and, with a speed so fast that Teddy barely had time to blink, ripped off Q's bandage on his jaw.

Teddy and Vic jumped at the sound of tape peeling away from skin but Q didn't so much as flinch as Chang inspected his stitched wound.

"It's not infected," Q said as Chang frowned at him.

"No, but it looks bloody nasty Renton. How's the rest of you?" Chang replied, poking his younger colleague in his bruising ribs.

Q pushed the man away.

"Fine."

"You're always fine."

"Hmm"

"Hrmm my ass. Come on. That paperwork isn't coming until noon at the earliest. I've already called Stein in. He's going to check you over and then you're going to sleep."

Q glared at the man who flicked him in the forehead with his finger in retaliation.

"Don't look at me like that. You either have me declare you unfit for active service or you get Stein and a nap. Consider yourself lucky. You kids don't look so great yourselves," Chang said, frowning down at Teddy and Vic.

Teddy had to admit that he was tired from the day's excitements and so when Chang lead the way out the conference room, he and Vic followed behind.

"Lance?" Chang called for and Teddy noticed that Dinah was still waiting or them outside. She stood when her bosses walked out of the room.

"I suppose you'd like to accompany Rodor on his daring escapades."

Dinah smiled," It would be an honor sir."

"Great. The others will be instructed to meet at the office," Chang said, beckoning Q to lead the way as he fished a cellphone from his pocket.

They made an odd group, Teddy supposed. Two magical boys in Hogwarts uniforms with one attractive blonde bringing up the rear and in front, a man slouched in his trench coat and fedora walking beside another man in a rather expensive looking suit.

"Hey, Dinah?" Teddy asked, looking up at the woman walking only a few steps behind them.

"Who's that?" he asked, pointing to Chang in front of them. The Chinese man was perhaps only a few years older than his father and roughly the same height too. Only instead of his dad's lanky frame, Chang seemed to support a rough build of someone who had done extensive physical exercise in the past. His hair was flecked with grey but he was clean shaven and the wrinkles around his eyes almost disappeared whenever he gave an easy grin as he talked with Q. Teddy noticed he walked with a slight limp but his strides were still purposeful and full of authority.

Dinah smiled, "Kujo Chang. He was the former Head of Development until he gave the position to Q a few years ago," she said, jerking her head to indicate the man in the front, "Before that he was in Special Ops. In his prime he had the best track record out of any of us, Special Ops or otherwise. "

Vic paused, "So like. He went on missions and blew things up and was awesome?" he asked and Dinah laughed.

"Yeah I guess you could say that. He trained the majority of the Special Ops forces and its respective branches including myself. It was an honor to work with him and I'm sure Q is just as appreciative. His youngest should be going to Hogwarts next year or so," she added as an afterthought.

"He's a wizard?"

Dinah shook her head, "Nope, but his wife is a witch I believe."

"That's pretty cool. We could be friends," Teddy said excitedly but Vic was having a different joy.

"It's Bond," Vic whispered urgently to Ted who looked at him in confusion, "It's actually, legitly James Bond. Like blow stuff up and save the world kind of guy. Just look at him Ted, he's like fifty and still built like a bloody tank...and he's _Asian_!"

Teddy laughed as Vic paused to think about the last fact before resuming his hyperactive leaps up and down in excitement.

"But technically he's also Q," Teddy said, looking at Dinah who shrugged.

"There's only one Q here," she said, "Not everything you see in movies is real. Quartermaster isn't actually the name of the head. It's just the name most people know Renton as."

Ted scrunched up his face in confusion.

"How'd they-?"

"It's was my hacker name in school," Q said suddenly, causing Vic and Teddy to jump out of their skins.

The boys turned and realized they'd been lead to a pair of closed double doors which Chang was leaning against with a grin.

"What's a hacker name?" Ted asked, genuinely curious.

Q shrugged and Chang laughed at him, "It's the name you use instead of your real one when you don't want anyone else to know you're the criminal that hacked into the Secret Service database at age fourteen," the older man said with a grin.

Teddy and Vic gaped at him. Chang just looked smug and Q cleared his throat uncomfortably in what could have been interpreted as awkward fidgeting.

"Moving on please," he said, motioning for Chang to turn back around.

Chang laughed again, "Alright, alright," he grasped both doors by the handles and pushed. Ted and Vic weren't expecting much, the whole building so far seemed to just be a row of office blocks after all.

But they had to admit it was pretty cool. When the doors opened they were lead out onto a landing overlooking the room. Looking down, Ted and Vic could see rows and rows of monitors and surveillance equipment decorating the huge room. People were simply everywhere. Some sat in ordered rows, hovering over displays while others ran through the aisles bringing paperwork and information. There was much chatter as discussions went on and presentations were held in their respective corners.

It was simply awesome.

"I suppose this is the appropriate time to say," Chang said, coming to look down at his workforce from the banister, "Welcome to Q Division."

* * *

When Q finally led the way to his office on the upper deck, Teddy was excited to meet even more new faces.

"Wow, we've got a whole party here," a girl's voice said and Teddy walked into a room to find a disaster zone.

"What did you do to the room?" Q asked with a bit of wariness at the coffee cups, garbage and scraps of paper all over the floor.

The girl who had spoken up earlier was sitting in the main chair, feet on the desk and slurping a large soft drink through a straw. Unlike everyone else in the room, she was dressed the least professionally, sporting shorts and a t-shirt instead of everyone's suits and ties.

Teddy guessed she was in her mid 20s. When Q asked her, she grinned and threw the now empty soda can into the nearest garbage can on the side of the room.

It missed but the girl didn't seem to mind and Teddy watched the can roll into a pile of discarded trash on the floor nearby.

"Hey, you wake me up at the crack of dawn and I'm going to need some sugar," she said with a shrug, opening up a drawer and taking out a bag of chips.

Another blonde haired man was lying on the couch opposite the desk, his blazer being crushed into the cushions as he raised his head to look at the newcomers before rolling over onto his side.

"It's way too early for this crap," he mumbled through a mouthful of cushion before he seemed to drop back to sleep again. It was only about five in the morning. And most people who worked day time jobs wouldn't appreciate being awoken so early Ted supposed.

A final man was busy sorting through a large medical bag at the edge of the desk before he rounded on Q.

"I can't believe you enrolled yourself on another mission, what the hell are you thinking Renton? You just got back from one."

A bottle was stuffed into Q's hands.

"Drink all of that and sit."

The girl put her legs down from the desk to make room for the other man and Q sat, slightly dumbstruck as everyone else still awake in the room laughed.

Teddy and Vic also found it slightly humorous.

The other man gave a huff instead and tilted Q's chin a bit to get a better view of the gash on his face. He then proceeded to take inspect the rest of Q's injuries and ordered the man to take off his shirt.

"You're probably wondering why I've gathered you all here," Chang joked as he pushed the girl off of her throne and sat down in the chair instead.

"If you're involved Boss Man it's gotta be fun," the girl replied with a grin and Chang rolled his eyes as he opened up the laptop that rested on the desk.

"Introductions. Quick. The boys are magical," he said, waving his hand around the room distractedly as he searched for relevant files.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the two boys idling by the door.

"Dinah Lance, communications specialist," Dinah said, starting things off.

"Oliver Queen, firearms specialist," the man said from the couch, not opening his eyes.

"Frank Stein, uh, doctor, the man inspecting Q said, giving Ted and Vic a friendly smile before returning back to his patient who sighed.

"Renton Rodor, intelligence director," Q mumbled.

And finally, "Rebecca Chang, Special Ops weapons technician."

"Chang?" Oliver said, finally taking interest and opening his eyes, "Oi, this your spawn Boss?"

The boss in question looked up from his computer and gave the room a wicked grin before returning to his work.

"Shouldn't you be containing the zombie thing going on right now?"

Rebecca shrugged to the question, "Don't look at me. Boss Man here wanted me on this team. This sounds way more interesting anyways," she said with a grin.

"Anyways, we're not done. Who're the new kids?"

Everyone turned back to Ted and Vic, waiting expectantly.

"Teddy Lupin, uh, metamorphagus?" Teddy asked and Oliver looked confused.

"What's that?"

"Uhh. Here," Ted said, pointing to his hair as he changed it from its natural brown to his usual blue.

Oliver stared as Dinah and Rebecca burst out laughing.

"What about you, kid? What can you do?" the blonde man asked, directing his question at Vic.

"I'm Victor Sage," Vic said before levitating a few inches off the ground, "And I can fly," he said proudly.

Ted grinned as his friend landed and Queen gave a low whistle.

"Man, this magic stuff just gets cooler and cooler," the man said, lying back down on the couch.

"How'd you know about magic?" Ted asked, going round to lean on the couch's arm rests. He was always curious to know how Muggles had contact with wizards.

"Hmm? Oh, my step son is a wizard," Oliver said with fond exasperation.

"There sure are a lot of ways Muggles can get connected to wizards," Vic said aloud and the rest of the room smiled at him.

"You don't know the half of it kid," Dinah said, ruffling both boys' hair.

"Right!" Chang suddenly interrupted from the desk, "Information's here," Chang said, motioning to the screen as the printer under the desk sprung to life, "Do try to give it to Queen before he gets himself killed," he said, motioning to the man lying on the couch as his daughter peered at the screen over his shoulder.

"I need an inventory request by noon and Stein, I want a physio report on Renton before you leave. By then I should have your papers. I expect it'll take the rest of the day to plan the rest so get some sleep everyone."

"What do you know? Queen's actually onto something," Dinah said and she and Rebecca shared a grin.

"Are we going lethal?" Queen asked, suddenly interested and Chang shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

"Try to avoid it. The paperwork's going to be a pain without telling them there'll be fatalities."

"We'll need about forty blue tab bullets and four reds then," Rebecca said, going from aloof to serious in under ten seconds. Chang opened up a file on the laptop and started typing.

"Just forty? That's ten shots each," Dinah said and Rebecca gave her a grin.

"I've been told by a certain someone not to waste inventory," she said, motioning to her father.

"We'll need a chopper," Q said thoughtfully, "And Dinah needs to bring her communications equipment."

"What about the kids?" Queen said, blindly pointing to Teddy and Vic, "They're underage. They can't use magic."

"What do you want to do? Give them a gun?"

Rebecca actually seemed eager to do just that and Teddy backed up.

"No guns," he said, worriedly remember his summer.

"If we're going non lethal they're not actually guns," Rebecca tried to explain, "They're just stun weapons. The blue tab bullets fire off an electric current that paralyzes the target for a few hours."

"The red tabs could get lethal, " Oliver argued, having finally sat up on the couch.

"There's enough concentrated nitrate in one to destroy this building."

Ted gaped at him and Rebecca shrugged, "That's why we only get one each."

"I'll add ten more blue tabs for the boys," Chang interrupted, typing it into the computer, "Maybe some protective gear too. They can't go running around in those uniforms."

Ted and Vic looked down at their Gryffindor robes.

"The usual assortment of guns and stock I assume?"

Everyone but the confused boys nodded.

"Done," Chang said, slamming the laptop lid closed and giving a yawn, "Get some rest everyone. Boys. Do your parents know you're here?"

"Uhh," Ted said with a sudden feeling of dread, "No...but they aren't home. And no one we know has a phone or anything."

Chang frowned, "Well I could send someone down to your house and drop off a letter I suppose."

"No wait!" Vic said, snapping his fingers suddenly, "We do know someone with a phone!"

Teddy turned to give Vic a questioning glance but he was already facing Chang.

"Sir, we need you to look up the number of Celty Sturluson."


End file.
